Beilein Steps Down As Head Coach Of The Cleveland Cavaliers

By Damon Knight, Tribune Correspondent

During the NBA’s All-Star weekend, the Cleveland Cavaliers announced that head coach John Beilein is weighing his coaching future with the team and plans to step down. On Tuesday, Beilein, 67, finally made his decision to step down as head coach of the Cleveland Cavaliers. He previously signed a 5-year, $20M deal with the Cavs back in May of 2019. However, his success with the team not only backfired on the court but off it as well. During a film session in January, Beilein reported called his team “a bunch of thugs.” He went on to deny it by saying, “I didn’t realize that I had said the word ‘thugs,’ but my staff told me later I did and so I must have said it,” Beilein told ESPN in January. “I meant to say slugs, as in slow-moving. We weren’t playing hard before, and now we were playing harder. I meant it as a compliment. That’s what I was trying to say. I’ve already talked to eight of my players tonight, and they are telling me that they understand.”
Beilein leaves the Cavs with a 14-40 record and in dead last in the Eastern Conference Division. He will be replaced by assistant coach J.B. Bickerstaff. Bickerstaff, 40, has previously coached the Memphis Grizzlies where he spent three-seasons with the team before being fired in 2018. He also has brief stints with the Houston Rockets, the Minnesota Timberwolves, and the Charlotte Bobcats. His record as a coach is 85-131. Meanwhile, Beilein is expected to return to the college ranks where his success is the bi-polar opposite of his pro career. Beilein’s coaching record in college for the Michigan Wolverines is 278-150 in 12 seasons as head coach, including two national championship appearances, two Big Ten titles and two Big Ten Tournament titles. He also has 3 consecutive Sweet 16 appearances. According to Mike Decourcy of sportingnews.com says, “His troubles in Cleveland will be of little concern to those programs hoping he will return to college basketball. This is not a given, though. Beilein is 67. That does not age him out of the business — not with coaches such as Mike Krzyzewski excelling well into his 70s — but Beilein left Michigan for a reason: He wanted a new challenge. He was treasured at UM. He left behind a successful group of players and recruits. His departure was not for escape, but for adventure. He may view returning to the college game and rebuilding another program as the sort of energizing challenge that drew him to the Cavaliers.”