With her announcement of stepping down as Tennessee's head women's basketball coach, Pat Summitt has shown once again just how much better she is than everybody else doing this coaching thing.
You know most of the story. 16 SEC regular season and tournament championships. 18 Final Fours. 1,098 wins. Tennessee never missed an NCAA Tournament during her 38 years at the helm, a feat that absolutely boggles the mind. But by stepping down due to her battle with early-onset Alzheimer, Summitt showed she knew when her time had come, a characteristic not displayed by many athletes or coaches these days.
There was Michael Jordan coming back to play for the Washington Wizards when he shouldn't have been, and Brett Favre ruining his relationship with Green Bay before heading to the New York Jets and Minnesota Vikings. Even then, Favre stuck around until scandals surrounding his penis did more to force him out of football. In college football, both Bobby Bowden and Joe Paterno hung on to their jobs at the helm for way too long, the latter ending in disastrous circumstances. Bobby Petrino hadn't been at Arkansas for long, but he was revered by the Razorback faithful. Now, he's out of a job because he too let his ego and perceived importance get the best of him.
Not Summitt, though. Somehow (sarcasm), she managed to avoid the inflated sense of self that has ruined so many other sports personalities. She knew earlier this season that this would have to be her last, but where she differed from so many others was that she followed through on that. Sure, Summitt will still be the "Coach Emeritus" (whatever that means) at Tennessee, but she's done with the profession. She'll still be there so Tennessee can recruit competitively, but Summitt knows it's time to hang up the proverbial whistle.
Always good to know that there are still some decent, smart people in the sporting world.
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