He literally won a National Coach of the Year Award 12 months ago…..at Providence College.
Do we know it was impulsive though? Every year someone is after him and at some point an option will be intriguing especially with a new President who is not your old President.
Georgetown went from Ewing to Cooley, how in the world is that a loss? Cooley received a huge pay increase. The only real loser here is Providence.
Georgetown is paying him 6 million. He was making 4.5 in Rhode Island -- about top-15 in the country. Considering the cost of living, it's a push. This wasn't about money.
Cooley benefitted from the false narrative that Providence is the hardest job in the country. This may have been the case 15 years ago but it's no longer true. (Facilities are outstanding). As a result of the sustained perception, if you do well here, you're always going to be in consideration for national recognition. It's like COY in the NFL. The best perceived "overachiever" wins almost every time.
Ed deserves credit for stabilizing/elevating PC's program following dark times. But let's not get crazy. In his hometown, folks were readying his statue after a Sweet 16 run that included wins against South Dakota State and Richmond. He's won one other NCAA tourney game during his time (12 years). Worthy of top-15 pay? Not based on results. John Thompson's son got fired after a much more successful tenure.
Cooley's an average X's and O's guy, but his strengths are in his abilities to connect, recruit, and sell his story. Being a "Providence guy" was a big part of that, and why PC invested so much into keeping him.
I don't think Georgetown's getting the hungrier, grinder of a coach Cooley was years ago. (Ed's health issues are well known.) They're a program in dire straights, similar to when Ed came to Providence. I think that, for a while, just getting back to the NCAA will be enough. I don't think Cooley ever sniffs another Sweet 16, and when that's clear, he'll move on to TV.
So when I say it was an impulsive decision? For the move to be handled so poorly throughout … to the point of severely tarnishing his legacy in his own city … for another 5-7 years of coaching? When he could have likely bounced to Michigan or Louisville and been cheered onward? I suspect that other, more private/personal matters contributed. The skeletons in the closet type.