Philadelphia 76ers head coach Doug Collins is going to call it quits after this year, making it four-straight coaching stops where he did not stay more than three seasons. There were some signs of unrest going all the way back to the 2011-12 season, with this year turning into a complete mess.
Doug Collins resigns: A timeline
Sixers head coach Doug Collins is reportedly planning to resign at the end of this season, which is of little surprise considering what has happened in Philadelphia the past few seasons.
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More on Collins: Liberty Ballers
Here’s a timeline of Collins’ ill-fated last few seasons in Philadelphia.
February 2012: Collins and Evan Turner get into it during a game against the Magic, culminating in Turner spiking a towel on the way to the locker room. Following the incident, Turner saw his playing time diminish, leading to talk of a possible "grudge." Collins also inexplicably started Andres Nocioni in a February game despite there being several other options available, including Turner.
April 2012: Collins and Thaddeus Young have a public disagreement about Young's minutes. Shortly thereafter, Collins calls his team "sensitive" after a tough loss to the Celtics.
May 2012: Collins' Sixers beat the Bulls in the first round of the playoffs (thanks to Derrick Rose blowing out his ACL), but then fall in seven games to the Celtics in the second round. Following the postseason run, there's talk that Collins will receive a contract extension.
2012 offseason: Collins seeks more power over personnel decisions (which helps bring Kwame Brown to the team), with a report saying that he and then-general manager and current president Rod Thorn had a strained relationship. In August, the Sixers make the blockbuster trade for Andrew Bynum, giving up Andre Iguodala, Nikola Vucevic and Moe Harkless in the process. The next month, Tony DiLeo becomes the new general manager and at the beginning of October, the Sixers pick up Collins' contract for 2013-14.
November 2012: Collins rails on advanced statistics right about the same time the Sixers are on the verge of hiring a new director of analytics. There's also some controversy about the use of rookie big man Arnett Moultrie, but luckily for Collins, the Sixers get off to a solid 10-6 start.
December 2012-February 2013: With Bynum’s return nowhere on the horizon, the Sixers begin to fall apart, which starts to turn up the heat on Collins. There are suggestions that the team is tuning him out, which he of course refutes. Things reach a breaking point after an ugly loss to the Magic at the end of February, when Collins throws his team under the busin an emotional post-game presser. The embattled head coach also laments the Bynum trade, and at this point, the writing is on the wall.
April 2013: Bynum’s future with the team is in doubt after undergoing surgery in March, the Sixers are destined for the lottery and a report surfaces that the organization is privately hoping that Collins will call it quits. That story is refuted by another media outlet, and Collins’ agent John Langel says that the decision to remain in Philadelphia is truly up to his client. On April 14, just hours after Langel stated that he expected Collins to remain head coach in 2013-14, it’s revealed that Collins is planning on resigning at year’s end.
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