Yikes.
He had a very mixed relationship with St Joseph's fans. Interested to see the reaction

I don't know that I would call him coward. He probably watched his team over the summer and early fall after having been given an ultimatum to win to get an extension. As a result, he determined that wasn't likely so he took another opportunity to avoid getting fired at the end of the year. Bad timing for St. Joe's for sure.

GWRising wrote:

I don't know that I would call him coward. He probably watched his team over the summer and early fall after having been given an ultimatum to win to get an extension. As a result, he determined that wasn't likely so he took another opportunity to avoid getting fired at the end of the year. Bad timing for St. Joe's for sure.

He had practically an entire offseason to realize that his best players were gone and had not been adequately replaced.  He could have read the handwriting on the wall and left the team in March or April before he got fired.  He didn't because he didn't have another job.  Once he got a job, in September, he walks out on his team.  If you prefer "weasel" to "coward", I'm OK with that.  Disgraceful works for me as well.  (Just like a certain university that had a whole offseason to change head coaches before waiting until September to do so.)  
 

GWRising wrote:

Gwmayhem wrote:

GWRising wrote:

I don't know that I would call him coward. He probably watched his team over the summer and early fall after having been given an ultimatum to win to get an extension. As a result, he determined that wasn't likely so he took another opportunity to avoid getting fired at the end of the year. Bad timing for St. Joe's for sure.

He had practically an entire offseason to realize that his best players were gone and had not been adequately replaced.  He could have read the handwriting on the wall and left the team in March or April before he got fired.  He didn't because he didn't have another job.  Once he got a job, in September, he walks out on his team.  If you prefer "weasel" to "coward", I'm OK with that.  Disgraceful works for me as well.  (Just like a certain university that had a whole offseason to change head coaches before waiting until September to do so.)  
 

 I would never criticize someone for doing what is best for his or her family. Sometimes the timing isn't optimal. He's not the first nor will he be the last. Maybe the opportunity didn't present itself until recently. The idea that he has to have some loyalty is bullshit in this era of transfers and NIL. Players leave on a dime. Why can't coaches? I thought this was supposed to work both ways. We are in the every man for himself era. I hate it all the way around but this is a byproduct.

I didn't realize that basketball players were free to leave their teams in September to go join another team.  Rising, this is all about the timing.  If Lange leaves St. Joe's at the end of last season, we're not having this conversation.  Instead, the Hawks end up hiring a coach who was just fired from Penn for pretty much no other reason than he was available on short notice.  Donahue has had a few good seasons in his career but many subpar ones as well.  Frankly, SJU was lucky to land him.  Nevertheless, you just shouldn't tell these kids and their parents that you'll be their coach only to voluntarily leave after the fall semester has started.  It's a terrible look and I have to believe that you know this as well.
 

GWRising wrote:

There is quite a gulf between "a terrible look or terrible timing" and a "coward or weasel". And yes, players are free to quit their teams in September and preserve a year of eligibility even if they can no longer mid-year transfer and play. In fact, that is why GW waited to fire ML until mid-September once they determined  that Tyler Cavanaugh wouldn't be able to enroll at Syracuse which was way more disgraceful than anything Lange did.

Is there quite a gulf between terrible look/terrible timing and coward/weasel because aside from one being a description and the other putting a name on it, I'm thinking they all amount to the same thing.  I have since learned that Donahue was actually hired as Associate Head Coach back in May, a sign that Lange could have pointed out that there was a distinct possibility of this happening and therefore, preparing the program in the event that it did.  The earlier move to hire Donohue does change my opinion a bit since he left the team in the hands of an experienced head coach.  That does matter (to me anyway).

Interesting about Tyler, that the school was afraid it would lose him if that monster Lonergan was fired but knew he would stay if either Lonergan wasn't fired or if it was too late for Tyler to do anything about it.

Rising,
It wasn't just Tyler the "school" (aka Patrick Nero) was worried about losing but most of the team!