Fansided

Larry Brown is considering high school coaching job

By Brad Berreman

Mar 6, 2016; Cincinnati, OH, USA; Southern Methodist Mustangs head coach Larry Brown reacts from the bench against the Cincinnati Bearcats in the second half at Fifth Third Arena. The Bearcats won 61-54. Mandatory Credit: Aaron Doster-USA TODAY Sports
Mar 6, 2016; Cincinnati, OH, USA; Southern Methodist Mustangs head coach Larry Brown reacts from the bench against the Cincinnati Bearcats in the second half at Fifth Third Arena. The Bearcats won 61-54. Mandatory Credit: Aaron Doster-USA TODAY Sports /
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Larry Brown has had a nomadic coaching career, to put it kindly, but his next job may take that to a whole new level.

Larry Brown’s basketball head coaching career would have started at Davidson, now best known as Stephen Curry’s alma mater, in 1969. But he never coached a game at the school, and returned to the ABA as a coach with the Carolina Cougars in 1972.

Brown’s coaching odyssey has included multiple stops in the ABA, the NBA and the college ranks, with his most recent stint coming at SMU before he resigned in early July. The school offered 76-year old a contract extension through 2020, but Brown wanted a longer contract. Over four seasons under Brown, the Mustangs went 94-39, but findings of academic fraud and a lack of coach control brought a suspension for Brown last season. The team was also rendered ineligible for postseason play, and stayed home with a more than worthy 25-5 mark.

Brown has never spent more than six seasons at any coaching job, and that has only happened once, with the Philadelphia 76ers from 1997-2003. Now gone on his own free will (once again) from the college ranks, and with no NBA opportunity coming, Brown is looking another direction for his next coaching job.

According to C.L. Brown of ESPN, Brown has learned of a coaching vacancy at East Hampton High School in Long Island, New York. He has a summer home in the area, and the newly hired coach at the school apparently resigned last week.

Brown suggested he will be talking about the job in short order, literally Tuesday night.

"“Tonight, I’m going to the high school and see the kids and talk to the [athletic director],” Brown, 76, told ESPN on Tuesday. “I wish I could tell you when I’m going to make a decision. I’m hopeful, it’s pretty close.”"

"“I feel like I have so much knowledge that I want to share with other people and I don’t know how to go about it right now. I’m trying to find that.”"

On Tuesday East Hampton athletic director Joe Vasile-Cozzo told Newsday, regarding Brown, “If he walks in the gym, he’s the man.” Brown also seems to think what he saw during recruiting while at SMU will help him reach players if he steps down a level.

"“What I’ve found, on every level, they want to be taught,” Brown said. “They want somebody that’s more than just a workout coach. So many people are afraid to teach kids, and I think that’s a big mistake.”"

Brown will obviously only have to worry about coaching a basketball team, which would make him a unique high school coach — to say nothing of the weight his name carries, even if the kids he’s coaching have no knowledge of his career.

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It’s hard to see Brown staying at this high school coaching job for very long, and it would truly be a surprise if he lasted the entire coming season. But no matter what, it will be a fitting end to a coaching career like no other in any sport, once and for all.