Jimmy O'Brien - Neither Flexible nor Adaptable

Jim O'Brien quit on the Celtics last January and I wasn't really happy about it then. In fact I called him out as a quitter. Today as the 76er's struggle - I'm feeling a bit vindicated. Here's a bit from what I wrote last January:

"I've been here seven years," said O'Brien. "I think I'm fairly adaptable and flexible, clearly, by how many teams I've coached. And I've done all right with all of them. But I really have a strong sense of the way I would prefer to coach a team and build a winner. That's clearly from the defensive end out.”

So Jim you say you’re adaptable and flexible but you’re quitting because you can’t or won’t adapt to a more up-tempo offense oriented game? Let’s take a look at the third quote:

"I made 100 percent of the decisions about playing time and style of play," said O'Brien. "I didn't make 99.9 percent of the decisions, I made 100 percent of the decisions. But he made 100 percent of the decisions on personnel. That didn't mean I didn't listen to Danny with a great deal of interest and didn't learn from him. I did, just like I would learn from any of my staff or somebody like Bob Cousy or Red Auerbach or Bill Russell.”

Wait a second. If you made 100% of the decisions about the style of play – then you really didn’t need to be adaptable – did you? If that’s the case – why the need to resign? Colonel Jessup – why the need for the two orders?

Yesterday's Boston Herald had a story in which O'Brien's former players basically say that O'Brien needs to learn to change and adapt.

Antoine Walker [news] seemingly benefited from O'Brien's loose leash in Boston, but the once-again Celtic believes his old leader will have to alter things to suit Webber, something he has been largely unwilling to do.

``I think for the success of the team and the success of the organization Obie will have to change,'' Walker said. ``But it's like anybody. If you're stuck in your ways, you're stuck in your ways. But he's got to adjust. If he's going to make the playoffs, he's going to have to adjust. They're going to have to do something. They'll probably get in (the playoffs), but then they'll have to beat Miami.

Stuck in his ways? Antoine - certainly you don't mean O'Brien. He's flexible and adaptive. Just ask him.

Quitters never prosper.