Since January 2011, three of Washington's four professional teams have lost their coaches. The Nationals' Jim Riggleman resigned June 24, while the Capitals' Bruce Boudreau and Wizards' Flip Saunders were fired November 28 and January 24, respectively. The longest-tenured coach in D.C. -- the Redskins' Mike Shanahan -- was hired in January 2010.
We as D.C. sports fans already knew that this city was a tough place for its coaches. Now that notion has been backed up by science.
According to a study from USA Today, Washington is the "most volatile" city for pro coaches as it has the "highest turnover rate of any market with more than one team in the four major professional sports." The last five coaches of each Washington team -- 19 total -- have lasted for an average of less than 2.5 seasons (2.38 to be exact). Seattle was second with an average tenure of 2.69 years, while Miami was third with 2.71.
Susan O'Malley, former president of what is now Monumental Sports And Entertainment, shared her insight on Washington's coaching carousel:
"Washington is for winners. If you lose, you leave your job and you leave town," said O'Malley, who was with Washington Sports and Entertainment (now called Monumental) for 21 years. "You only got there by winning. You got there because your guy won and you're with him. … The tolerance for losing, in my mind, is less in Washington than anywhere else."
Perhaps "If You're Not First, You're Last" should replace "Taxation Without Representation" on the city's license plates.
Sports
Adam Vingan is co-founder and editor of Kings Of Leonsis, a Caps-centric blog, and is the Capitals Editor for SB Nation. Follow him on Twitter @Adam_KOL and e-mail your story ideas to adamvingan (at) gmail.com.
