Alex English Should be the Next Coach of the Denver Nuggets

I’m going to come right out and say it: Alex English should be the next head coach of the Denver Nuggets.

Sometimes you have to look to your past to reveal your future, and if the Nuggets are looking for someone who has history with the organization to help restore pride to the franchise and re-energize the fan base, there’s no one with ties to the organization who would be a better choice than English. For the uninitiated, here’s a quick run-down of English’s Nuggets resume:

English played 10 and a half seasons in Denver, officially joining the Nuggets on February 1, 1980, when he was traded to Denver by Indiana.
He remains the all-time franchise leaders in just about every offensive category that matters, including points, assists, offensive rebounds, and points per game. He also is the franchise leader in games played and minutes played, which means no one on this planet is more of a Denver Nugget than he is.
He is currently number 17 on the list of the NBA’s all-time leading scorers.
English is an 8-time All-Star, and each of his appearances came while he played for the Nuggets. What’s more, his first All-Star appearance didn’t come until he was 28 years old; his last came when he was 35.
He is a member of the Basketball Hall of Fame, and his iconic number 2 jersey is one of only five numbers retired by the Nuggets, only four of which are former players (the fifth number marks coach Doug Moe’s 432 regular season career wins with the Nuggets).

Following his playing career, English transitioned into coaching, earning valuable experience as head coach of the D-League’s North Charleston Lowgaters (which he led to the D-League Finals). He made his NBA debut as an assistant coach with the Atlanta Hawks, and subsequently served on the coaching staff for the Philadelphia 76ers, Toronto Raptors and Sacramento Kings.

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Most recently, English has been serving as a color analyst for the SEC Network providing commentary for digital telecasts of University of South Carolina men’s basketball games. A recent article by Bob Gillespie of South Carolina’s The State newspaper indicates English is still very much interested in pursuing a career in coaching. That means he’s probably just a phone call away for the General Manager Tim Connelly.

So, what would English bring to the team as coach of the Nuggets? That’s open to speculation, but there are two quotes from David Friedman’s excellent 2006 profile of English that I believe shed a lot of light on what his coaching philosophy would be in the Mile High City.

First, on how he succeeded as a player during his career:

"“I did…not let [other players] make contact with me. I would move. A lot of players who were bigger did not like running the floor. I ran. I never stopped moving. I was a strong wiry thin, sort of like Tayshaun Prince. I did my best to stay out of their way and make them run. Eventually, they would end up being tired and I would still be at full strength.”"

And second, on how he approaches the game as a coach:

"“As a coach you don’t need to be so stringent or so tight or so structured all the time. I think of Mike D’Antoni – when you look at his team and look at his players you see that they enjoy playing for him. That’s how Doug Moe was with us. You demand and command discipline and structure. I guess that the way that I coach would also be like being a willow tree. You have to be strong but you also have to be able to bend sometimes.”"

If those two quotes don’t get you pumped as a Nuggets fan, I don’t know what to tell you. English knows firsthand that the way to win in Denver is to run and run and then run some more. As Friedman pointed out in his 2006 profile, English was part of the 1981-82 Nuggets squad that “still hold the records for most points in a season (126.5 ppg) and for most consecutive games scoring at least 100 points (136, including every game of the 1981-82 season).” Not only does English know the pace that wins in Denver, he also recognizes that coaching isn’t just about ruling with an iron fist. We just watched Brian Shaw crash and burn because he seemingly couldn’t relate to today’s players. There’s no guarantee English wouldn’t have similar struggles, but the fact that he would come into Denver knowing a coach needs to be firm but flexible in today’s NBA likely puts him light years ahead of Shaw in that category.

There are probably plenty of fans who will say the last thing the Nuggets need is another inexperienced head coach. Or that the franchise has already been down this path when they hired Dan Issel, another former Nuggets great, to be head coach back in the 1990s and we know how well that turned out (Issel was 180-208 as Nuggets coach, and his last go around ended in ugly fashion). But that’s a short-sighted view of the situation at hand.

Right now, the Denver Nuggets are one of the most lackluster teams in the NBA, and plenty of writers and bloggers in the know have hinted that the culture surrounding the team — from top to bottom — is borderline toxic. As recently as this morning, The Denver Post’s Mark Kiszla had this to say of the problem’s facing the organization:

"“The Nuggets have a problem with a lack of professionalism. It starts at the top, with franchise president Josh Kroenke, and trickles down with an annoying drip, drip, drip to the locker room, where a brown cardboard box labeled “Phones” sits on a stool every game night, because irresponsible players developed a nasty habit of caring more about text messages than the final score.”"

What this team needs more than anything is a connection to their past. There was a time when the Nuggets weren’t an afterthought in Denver. Sure, the Broncos will always get top-billing, but when the Nuggets are playing well, the fans will come out in droves to pack whatever building the Nuggs are playing in. The George Karl years were exciting, but the true roots of success that defined the Nuggets for more than a decade were nourished by English and his silky-smooth game. English’s name still means a lot to Nuggets fans, and providing that link to the team’s hey day is far more valuable than whatever buzz the flavor-of-the-month coaching candidates are drawing this season. I mean, let’s not forget that not too long ago, Brian Shaw was one of those highly coveted up-and-comers. Just because someone looks good on paper doesn’t mean they will pan out. And if the front office is once again in a position of having to gamble on a relatively unknown commodity in the coach’s seat, I think you could do far worse than giving English a shot to prove he’s the man for the job.

In all honesty, the likelihood of English landing the Nuggets job is pretty miniscule. I think the Nuggets feel burned by Shaw and will over-correct by hiring someone with more experience as a head coach in the NBA. But if the Nuggets are serious about righting this ship and salvaging their relationship with disgruntled fans, English should at least be on their short list of candidates for the job.

Next: Nuggets Coaches, Players Comment on Shaw's Firing

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