Also, re: the vetting process - there seems to be a lot of managers or directors here, and while it's easy to believe the CBJ front office messed up the hiring and vetting process originally, I don't know if it's quite as simple as it seems with hindsight. I assume a lot of you have had to deal with disgruntled ex-employees at some point, and they are not exactly a reliable source when speaking about the employer. If there's bad blood, there's usually two sides of the story and then the truth somewhere in there, hidden deep. It takes quite a bit of detective work to figure out what really happened, especially if more impartial parties are not involved or willing to talk, and if some time has passed, it becomes even more difficult...
I think the issue here is the idea that he had changed. The narrative was “Babcock was a good coach who could be a jerk, but he has had 4 years and he has changed” so they should really have investigated whether he has changed. Have you ever been around an addict? They are the best liars in the world and they are masters of saying they have changed. I have been around a few, so I am naturally skeptical when someone claims to have undergone a significant change.
How do you investigate whether someone has changed?
Do you call the old boys club and ask “Do you think Babcock has changed?” Is that a reasonable approach, or is that an easy but ineffective approach?
Do you have a long sit down with Babcock and straight up ask him?
I think my approach would be
1) Try to find the real story about past transgressions.
2) Bring in a couple of Psychology PhDs that are established experts on when and how people can make significant changes in their life.
3) Call people who have spent a lot of time with Babcock over the last 4 years and ask them about him
4) Sit down with Babcock and ask him about past mistakes and how he has grown
5) Sit down with critics like Mike Commodore and have a serious discussion about Babcock.
That may seem like time consuming work, but remember the Jackets took their time with this hire.
It seems like the team took the simpler “call some guys you know” approach rather than taking a deeper dive into Mike Babcock‘s capacity to change.