New job titles among Mystics' staff won't alter franchise's direction originally appeared on NBC Sports Washington
How can a sports franchise go through a coaching change and ensure there is minimal transformation? Just hire the same coach, 37 years younger.
The Washington Mystics welcomed a new head coach for the first time in a decade. The job, however, is staying in the family as Mike Thibault hands over the whistle to his son Eric who has been an assistant on his staff for 10 seasons. It’s a reality that has been discussed with ownership years ago, billed as ‘the succession plan’ by Mike – as he moves to a general manager-only role – in his conversations with the media over the course of several seasons.
It’s here now. It’s a change to an organization, that despite the irregular play the past three seasons, has been nothing but consistent with its coaching staff and overall approach.
But is anything really changing? There are no new bodies in the building. The three most powerful figures in the front office/ coaching staff,(when including assistant general manager Maria Giovannetti) remain the three most powerful figures. There are just some role adjustments and title changes.
“I think that as the GM, I was ready for Eric to be the head coach,” Mike Thibault said at a press conference on Wednesday. “I was ready for Maria to take on more responsibilities (as the senior vice president of strategy and vision). And I can be a sounding board for them. But it’s kind of like, let them do their thing now, and now I have the title of GM, but somewhere down the road they’re going to be fully in charge of this and they can use me as whatever they see as a resource at this point.
“I think that I can now sometimes step back and take a different view of our team sometimes without having to think about I’m going to coach the game the next day too.”
This change has been gradual. It wasn’t something that occurred on a random Tuesday in the offseason. Eric was promoted to associate head coach – essentially the biggest role on the bench for a non-head coach – four years ago. Responsibilities have been added to his queue over time. Go to a team practice and you’ll see that he’s just as vocal and active, if not more, than his father.
Giovannetti has been with the organization for 11 seasons, one year more than the Thibaults. The last five were as the assistant GM. Like, Eric, more responsibility is heading her way.
Mike has been in the general manager position for 10 years in Washington. Now, it is his only position.
Tweaks to the team would be different just as if it’s any other offseason. Mike Thibault’s imprint is still on the roster and his coaching style has certainly rubbed off on his son. The adjustment is now the buck stopping with Eric at practices and in games.
“Before as an assistant, you give input, you give suggestions, you try to support the head coach,” Eric Thibault said. “But now I know I’m the one that has to sit in that seat and make decisions about playing time and what we’re going to run, when to call timeouts, when does the team need a little bit of a push on a day between games and when do you throttle back?”
Eric’s relationship with the players will likely diverge and he understands that’s part of the gig. That’s one of the few, new responsibilities he’ll have but that’s where the newly appointed associate head coach LaToya Sanders and the rest of the coaches can step up.
“There’s going to be differences right? When you control the purse strings on playing time, it’s going to be a little bit different,” Eric Thibault said. “And that’s where I feel exceptionally fortunate to have a great staff that has also long relationships with this group of players that’s been here. And so I know that’ll be different, but I think that the time that we’ve all invested in each other is going to be what keeps us strong together.”
Related: Eric Thibault is prepared for the next chapter
Much of what Eric said in his press conference echoed what his dad has said over the years. Culture is paramount and having an environment that fosters growth and development. One element Eric wants to incorporate into his coaching style is being direct with his players, which Mike said made him successful for years earlier in the same press conference.
Eric isn’t reinventing the wheel or overhauling this team. He’s just picking up where Mike left off.
“I don’t take it for granted,” Eric said. “And I don’t take for granted this special group that we have here and what’s been created and the opportunity that sits in front of us.”
Through it all, there’s the unavoidable nepotism question from those on the outside. Of course, the winningest head coach in WNBA history would want to have an influence on who his successor is. Retiring on his own terms and being the general manager gives him even more power.
At the end of the day, though, there are only 12 head coaching jobs in the WNBA. One of the best ones with a win-now team went to his son without a coaching search.
At 35, Eric’s never been the top person at any level. He’s filled in for some games that Mike has missed over the past few years but that doesn’t compare to the 24/7 responsibilities. It doesn’t mean he’s not qualified, but there is a chance it might not work out.
Mike – who sought out feedback from his players when hiring Eric as an assistant back before the 2013 season – is more concerned with who can sustain the success that he’s generated. Few candidates for the job can be more prepared than an assistant who’s been with the team for a decade. They’ve made the playoffs eight out of 10 years, making the WNBA Finals in two and winning a championship.
After all, this is Mike’s first decision in a GM-only role.
“If I didn’t think he was going to be ready for this, I wouldn’t have recommended it to our ownership group,” Mike Thibault said. “Fairly or unfairly, I still have my reputation as the GM on the line and it’s incumbent upon me to hire a coach that is ready for this. And I have felt strongly about that or we wouldn’t have named him associate head coach four years ago.”
Nothing is given in sports. The results will speak for themself come the regular season in six months.
But there couldn’t be a better situation for Eric to walk into for his first venture as a head coach. A championship core still intact all these years later, an MVP in Elena Delle Donne, a budding star in Shakira Austin and a lottery pick in their pocket is a coach’s dream. One would be great, he has all four with one of the best coaches in history helping him from the GM office.
It may be cliche to say but ‘if it’s not broke, don’t fix it’ and Eric seems like the perfect person to, at minimum, maintain the standard for the Mystics. And that standard is pretty high.
