Not that there's anything wrong with wanting to win. But there's something wrong if you're miserable playing even when you're winning.
SALT LAKE CITY — Coaches get fired all the time, usually for one of two reasons.
Either the coach isn't winning enough games or there are off-the-court problems involving the coach or his players.
The latest firing of a college basketball coach — Air Force's Jeff Reynolds — happened for a new reason, at least one I haven't heard before.
The players, apparently, weren't having enough fun.
That's what AFA athletic director Hans Mueh said, anyway, in announcing Reynolds' dismissal last Wednesday after five years at the Academy.
Reynolds was actually having one of his better seasons with an 11-10 record and had a near-win against No. 13 UNLV 10 days earlier when the Falcons lost by two points in overtime.
But, apparently, Reynolds was too intense for his athletic director's liking and he wasn't letting the players have enough fun.
"I could care less if they don't win another game," Mueh said after the firing. "I care a lot about their attitude out on the floor. I want them to jump up and high-five each other. I want them to smile when they're playing."
He added, "I can't continue to allow the athletes on the court to just go through the motions and not have fun playing the game."
Fair enough. I couldn't agree more about the fun aspect. I've always believed sports are supposed to be fun. Too often these days, many athletes aren't having fun because of demanding coaches who are only concerned about one thing and one thing only — winning.
Not that there's anything wrong with wanting to win. But there's something wrong if you're miserable playing even when you're winning.
I felt like that was the case over the final five years or so of Rick Majerus' reign at Utah.
Some of the players clearly weren't having much fun, despite winning championships and earning NCAA berths on a regular basis.
But Majerus' job was never in jeopardy, even if his players weren't having much fun. That's because they won most of the time.
In Reynolds' case, his teams weren't having enough fun to overcome the lack of winning.
After starting off with a winning record in his first year at the Academy, Reynolds' teams had consecutive 10-21 seasons in the MWC, where they won just one league game in two years. Last year, AFA bounced back with a 16-16 season, including a win in the postseason College Insider tournament.
This year, the Falcons were off to one of their best starts ever, going 11-4 with early losses to Colorado in overtime, at Drake by two and at Gonzaga by 10. After a home loss to Wagner, which is currently 21-4, the Falcons reeled off five straight wins, including a 15-point win at Boise State to open the Mountain West Conference season.
Unfortunately for the Falcons, the MWC is stronger than ever this year from top to bottom and they proceeded to lose six straight, including an ugly 81-42 home loss to New Mexico. When that was followed by an 18-point loss at Colorado State, Mueh had seen enough and gave Reynolds the hook.
I must admit I was surprised to hear that Reynolds' intensity is what got him fired. I always found him to be very nice in interviews and he seemed calmer than your average coach out on the floor during games.
And I'll always remember the one up-close-and-personal experience I had with Reynolds on my last visit to Clune Arena two years ago.
It was a couple of hours after the game and I was trying to find my way out of the maze of tunnels inside the arena after finishing my story. Reynolds, whose team had lost handily, was walking by and asked if I needed help. I said I just needed to be pointed in the right direction, but Reynolds took time to walk me across the arena floor, around a corner and through a hallway and then waited at the door to make sure I was at the right parking lot for my car.
What a good guy.
But now he's out of work because he didn't let his players have more fun.
By the way, in Air Force's latest game, under interim coach Dave Pilipovich the Falcons were drilled by 11 points at home by Boise State (0-7 in MWC play at the time), the same team they beat last month by 15 on the road.
Let's just hope the Falcon players were at least having some fun Saturday, while losing their seventh straight game.
Email: sor@desnews.com