Here is a crazy stat.

[UTEPDefense]

The question has popped up on the Kyyote board; is this the worst UTEP basketball team in history? I still think the 2002/2003 team is the worst, so I went back and looked at their schedule. They only won 6 games that year, but 2 of their 6 wins that year were against San Jose State....whose head coach was Phil Johnson.

Somehow Phil Johnson lost to the worst UTEP team in school history TWICE in the same season. Now Phil Johnson has been the head coach for the second worst UTEP team in school history(this year).

 

[unihom]

That's not crazy. Phil Johnson is a horrible head coach. His records prove it.

Fans used to hate his guts until he come out as a Haskins guy. Should have stuck to your first impression and he wouldn't have been here.

 

[Minerforlife]

I don't blame this on Phil Johnson. This season was going to be a disaster no matter who the coach was. Johnson took over a team that lost to Ap State and Lamar. This is not a good team. No matter who the coach was this season was lost. Interim coaches almost never work out. I'm in no way saying Johnson is a good coach. His personnel decisions are bizarre to say the least. He's lost the team. His in game adjustments are non existent and his behavior in the UAB game was embarrassing. He will be put out of his missery in three weeks. However, it wouldnt have mattered who the interim coach was this season wasn't salvagable. This mess is on Floyd.

 

[jdubb66]

As long as we're digging...

Chicago Bulls assistant[edit]
In his first professional coaching position, Johnson was an assistant coach for the Chicago Bulls from 1999 to 2002, again under Tim Floyd; Johnson remained on staff under Bill Cartwright, after Floyd resigned in December 2001 following a 4–21 start.[1][11]

Second stint at San Jose State[edit]
In 2002, Johnson returned to San Jose State to be head coach. San Jose State went 7–21 in the 2002–03 season, then 6–23 the following season.[12] On February 25, 2004, San Jose State and the Western Athletic Conference both reprimanded Johnson for what San Jose State described as a "verbal confrontation with a UTEP fan" during the February 19 game against UTEP. This was six years before Johnson became an assistant coach at UTEP. San Jose State athletic director Chuck Bell stated: "While recognizing that the fan’s verbal harassment of Coach Johnson throughout the game led to the confrontation, under no circumstances can a coach allow himself to be placed in a situation that jeopardizes the safety of the players and the fans in an arena."[13] The same day of the reprimand, the San Jose Mercury News revealed that Johnson had a suspended driver's license due to three arrests for drunk driving from 2002 and 2003.[14]

San Jose State fired Johnson after the 2004–05 season, in which San Jose State finished 6–23 for the second straight season.[15] In 2008, the NCAA reduced the number of scholarships for San Jose State men's basketball by two, as a result of an unsatisfactory four-year Academic Progress Rate of 886 (the minimum satisfactory APR is 925) that spanned Johnson's final two seasons (2003–04 and 2004–05) and the first two seasons of succeeding head coach George Nessman (2005–06 and 2006–07).[16][17]

 

[Lil_Train]

Realistically, there is zero chance that Johnson will be retained. However, while I am still on the fence a bit on this, I am not completely against retaining one of the other assistants (Baumann or Braswell). My primary thinking is that holding onto one of these two would be beneficial to keeping some of the current players. More than likely, the new coach will want to clear house, but some consideration should given to retaining an assistant if it is for the best of the program in terms of stability.

 

[Dmanminer]

Only the new head coach should decide if they stay. The coach needs to have his people working with him. I’m not saying they need to leave but it should be up to the next coach. He should not be forced to work with someone that may not agree with his methods or what he wants to run.