On Wednesday night at Bridgestone Arena, the Vanderbilt Men’s Basketball team finished the worst season in the history of the Southeastern Conference.
Vanderbilt suffered its 19th SEC loss of the season in the opening round of the 2019 SEC Tournament on Wednesday night, putting an end to a season of misery that came without a win since the calendar turned to 2019. The only other SEC teams to go winless in SEC play are no longer members of the SEC.
With the season now finally over, the scrutiny turns to third-year Head Coach Bryce Drew. After coaching the Commodores to their two worst seasons in program history, the question must be asked: should Vanderbilt fire or keep him?
There is a case to be made for both sides, and the debate will certainly be active in the coming weeks. Following Vanderbilt’s final loss this week, Sports Editor Cutler Klein and Associate Sports Editor Max Schneider each made their arguments in their own columns for what Vanderbilt should do with their head basketball coach.
Schneider argued that Vanderbilt should fire Drew after a historically bad winless SEC season, while Klein argued that Drew should get a mulligan on this season and should get one more chance to prove he belongs on West End.
Read each of their columns at the links below:
SCHNEIDER: Why Vanderbilt should fire Bryce Drew
“A year that started with more hype, more expectations, and more national attention than Vanderbilt has had in quite some time, has now ended in what is without a doubt the most disappointing season in program history. And that alone is enough to pull the plug on the Bryce Drew experiment.”
KLEIN: Bryce Drew deserves one more chance, but with conditions
“So, now is not the time to fire Drew. That doesn’t mean that the events of the 2018-19 season are acceptable by any standards. If Drew wants his tenure as head coach to extend beyond the 2019-20 season, there are some conditions he’ll have to meet.”
