Fire Glen Miller? Absolutely not

A few days ago, I reflected on the first half of the basketball season and underscored the importance of developing better team leadership in order to break out of Penn's current funk. Ultimately, as is the case anywhere else, the chief responsibility for wins and losses -- and to a large extent team morale -- falls on the head coach. When a team looks as aimless as Penn has lately, it is both fair and necessary to evaluate not just the players' performance, but also Glen Miller's coaching. I was hardly suggesting in my post that the Quakers need personnel or coaching changes -- in fact, I firmly believe that Penn has the right players and coaches in place to turn this season around and make a run at the Ivy League title.

Clearly, there are fans out there that disagree with this notion. One such fan, through a comment on my post, alerted readers of a blog he created: fireglenmiller.blogspot.com. The author of this blog, who signs off his posts as Justin and seems to be a Red and Blue Crew member, is apparently on a mission to get Miller fired. In his latest post, he discusses my piece and quotes two chunks of it, concluding that the DP and I have joined forces with his blog in pushing for Miller's dismissal. As someone who admires and respects Miller, and as someone whose views and words were taken drastically out of context, I feel compelled to respond to Justin.

1. It would be incredibly irresponsible to even consider firing Glen Miller at this time. Keep in mind that there is a very steep learning curve to coaching at Penn and in the Ivy League, especially when you follow in the footsteps of an iconic Philadelphia coach like Fran Dunphy. Miller inherited two recruiting classes from Dunphy -- the current juniors and the seniors -- that did not pan out nearly as well as expected, largely because of injuries. Miller's two recruiting classes have been outstanding, and the fact that Penn remains competitive at all in these games with a squad full of freshmen and a sophomores is a testament to his recruiting efforts.

2. With the right talent and leadership in place, Miller can and will win. Just look at what he did in his first season at Penn. Surely, most of that was the result of an extraordinary senior class and leadership that had been in place well before Miller arrived in Philadelphia. The challenge now is for him to help foster the kind of leadership that the Quakers saw a few years ago. The fact that no one on the team has truly stepped up to the plate cannot fully be blamed on Miller considering he only recruited the youngest players on the team. But even so, I do think there is a large leadership component missing on the team right now. And yes, as head coach, Glen Miller needs to take responsibility for rectifying that problem. I NEVER said he should be fired or that he doesn't have what it takes for Penn to win, and the DP has absolutely no agenda whatsoever to that effect. Any suggestion or representation to the contrary on the internet is completely baseless and not rooted in any kind of fact.

3. While I actually think healthy dialogue about the responsibilities of both the players and coaches is a good thing, the way the debate is framed on this new blog, which the author refers to as a "hate blog," is unproductive. I find the radical nature of the blog distasteful, as well. It would be great if the Red and Blue Crew could start up a more legitimate blog to help unite fans and facilitate a meaningful discussion about the team.

I am not calling for the blog to be taken down -- fans have a right to their opinions, no matter how extreme they are. As a journalist, I'm not about to attack freedom of speech. But please know that I have absolutely nothing to do with this blog, and I am not happy to be quoted on it as some outrageous form of anti-Miller propaganda.