The Doug Gottlieb experiment at Green Bay certainly has not been successful, and that’s an understatement. Even Adam Schefter implored the Phoenix head coach to limit his social media presence and focus more on the gym. It seems he may not have heeded that advice, as he recently deleted a post mocking a women’s basketball player following yet another disheartening loss for his team.
As Gottlieb mocks others, his Green Bay team has become the subject of ridicule time and again. This prompted the Fox Sports Radio host to address the negativity surrounding his team on his radio show.
On this episode of IN THE BONUS with Doug Gottlieb: @GottliebShow addresses the negativity he has seen on social media regarding him and his basketball team. Doug reacts to @dpshow‘s take about Stephen A Smith. Plus, YOU’RE ANNOYING with @JasonStewart.https://t.co/Y6wtdAZYuF
— FOX Sports Radio (@FoxSportsRadio) January 31, 2025
“I don’t know if I’ve reached my fill of social media, but I think it’s worthy of a discussion,” he remarked. “Last night, we were tied at the half, and we lost to Oakland, the Golden Grizzlies. That marked our 18th consecutive loss. It’s intriguing that people are paying attention; they troll us and point out that we’ve lost 18 in a row. That’s fine, it’s part of being a head coach in college—people focus on you, and it is about me and my team. However, it’s interesting how no one seems to want to dig deeper for context.”
For context, Gottlieb’s Phoenix currently stands at 2-21 and 0-12 in Horizon League play. “I still don’t understand the point,” he lamented about social media negativity. “For instance, we don’t have Anthony Roy, who was the nation’s leading scorer before injuring (Gottlieb benched him in December). He’s expected to return later this season, but we’ve also been without Marcus Hall, who would be our leading scorer without Roy, averaging around 13 points a game. It doesn’t just work by expecting a single player to score 38 points; you have to navigate further down the bench. I played nine players last night, six of whom are freshmen. Against an Oakland team with experienced players, we gave up 18 offensive rebounds, shot poorly in the second half, and ended up losing.”
That was the 18th consecutive loss.
Interestingly, Gottlieb recalled that Bill Self, now the head coach at Kansas, faced an 18-game losing streak at the start of his career at Oral Roberts. “I know many coaches have had serious struggles in their first year,” he stated. “I’ve learned so much, but I question when someone will step back and say, ‘I actually watched the game and thought it was well coached.’ Or, if they believe it was poorly coached because of what they didn’t see, that’s fine too. But I just don’t understand the piling on without context.”
Gottlieb’s cohost, Jason Stewart, reminded him that if he seeks credit, he won’t find it on Twitter or blogs. “I wouldn’t turn to Twitter for validation,” Stewart noted. “Perception is reality in your business, and that’s the feedback you receive online.”
Stewart’s insight resonated with Gottlieb, leading him to reflect on the bigger issue. “Again, this is what happens in writing. It exposes that
