CSUN Debt to Cassidy Goes Unpaid

Cal State Northridge will hire a new point man for its men’s basketball team and even the most-ardent supporters of former Coach Pete Cassidy can’t be too surprised.

Seven consecutive losing seasons promotes job security only if you happen to be working for the Washington Generals. Or maybe the Clippers.

Cassidy, 61, was head coach at his alma mater for a quarter-century, but for most of the past decade his grip on the position had been slipping. Just how long he would--and should--hold on was a popular topic of debate in Southland coaching circles.

Detractors said Cassidy was old-fashioned, set in antiquated ways, and claimed that his trouble relating to young athletes precluded him from winning a requisite number of recruiting wars.

Backers depicted him as a brilliant tactician whose command of the game’s fundamental X’s and O’s simply could not overcome shortcomings in his program that were no fault of his own.

As in most such cases, there are elements of truth to both portrayals.

Not that it matters now.

Cassidy was fired last week, less than a month after the conclusion of a season that saw his career record fall below .500 for the first time since 1977.

Paul Bubb, Northridge’s acting athletic director, canned Cassidy while noting that the program was finally in a position to recruit out-of-state players, offer a full complement of scholarships and play in a legitimate conference.

Interesting logic.

Exactly how Bubb added those factors and came up with firing Cassidy at the end of the equation is somewhat of a mystery, particularly with circumstances surrounding the Northridge athletic program as muddled as ever.

Bubb took responsibility for removing Cassidy, yet he might not be holding his own position much longer. Bubb is athletic director on an interim basis. He is among three finalists for the permanent job, which is expected to be settled early next month.

School administrators have said that they want the new athletic director to have a hand in hiring the basketball coach. But if that is the case, what was the rush firing Cassidy?

First as an athlete and then as a coach and teacher, Cassidy has been associated with Northridge for more than half of his life. He says he wanted to coach only one more year.

One year to use additional financial resources and the lure of a decent conference to secure the services of a couple of legitimate Division I frontline players.

One year to enjoy a renovated home court.

One year to feel as if his team wasn’t always trying to fastbreak up an increasingly steep hill.

One year to get that career record back above .500 again.

Northridge could have used that year to its advantage, letting the new athletic director settle in before having to make such an important hire.

Waiting might have allowed Northridge to arrange a sendoff more appropriate for a man who has given almost all of his professional life to the school. Waiting also would have resulted in a stronger field of candidates to replace Cassidy.

As it is, some coaches are hesitant to express interest in the position because they fear many recruits will have committed elsewhere by the time Northridge makes a hire.

Maybe firing Cassidy was Bubb’s way of showing his supervisors that he has the courage to make a tough decision.

He’d have been better off making the right decision.