According to Doug Collins the writing had been on the Wall since January, but this morning it was made official.
CSN Philly is reporting that Doug Collins has resigned after three seasons as coach of the Philadelphia 76ers and will remain with the franchise as an adviser.
Collins has one year left on his original four-year deal worth $4.5 million. He now steps down after a season that was supposed to be so promising, but fell apart with the knee injury to center Andrew Bynum.
The Sixers went 34-48 and missed the playoffs for the first time in his three seasons. The decision was announced by owner Josh Harris this morning.
”This is his decision,” Harris said. ”He is not being pushed out.”
“At the end of the day, he’s a proud father and he wants to spend more time with his family,” Harris said. “Doug is a 24-7, 100 mph guy, which I really appreciate. He doesn’t want to be coaching next year anywhere. … He loves the Sixers. He loves the city. He’s not not planning on coaching anywhere else. It was a personal decision for him. I want to make it very clear. I would love to have Doug Collins back as my coach next year. This is his decision. He’s not being pushed out.
“I tried to convince Doug to stay … but when someone says they want to spend time with their grandkids and help their son … I understand.”
Collins said he made the decision around Christmas, in the midst of a 13 game road trip.
“I talked two months ago to Tony DiLeo and Rod Thorn and I said I wanted to figure out an exit strategy,” Collins said. “I wanted to go out with dignity.”
And spend time with his family. Collins has five grandkids and a son Chris who just took over at Northwestern, his first career head coaching job.
“This job, you’ve got to pour your heart and soul into it every single second. I love this city, and I love the 76ers. I’ve been with this organization for 40 years,” Collins said. “There are a lot of things I want to enjoy. I think it’s every man’s dream to live that life that you’ve worked so hard to try to live, and that’s what I want to do.”