Jan 26, 2009 - 7:53 PM
0 shoutsTUSCALOOSA, Alabama (Ticker) -- Alabama men's basketball coach Mark Gottfried admitted it was time to move on from his alma mater.
Gottfried resigned, effective immediately, Monday after 10-plus seasons with the Crimson Tide.
Gottfried, 45, had two years remaining on a contract that pays him $900,000 annually. He has an overall record of 210-131 with the Crimson Tide but is just 83-82 in Southeastern Conference play.
Assistant coach Philip Pearson will be the interim coach for the remainder of the season. Alabama is only 12-7 this year, including a 2-3 mark in the SEC.
"My No. 1 priority is to do what is best for the University of Alabama, this basketball program, and these young men," Gottfried said in a statement.
"Mal (athletic director Mal Moore) and I sat down today and we talked. At that point, I notified him of my intention to resign as head coach of the men's basketball program. ... It has been a wonderful decade for me and my family, and I love the University of Alabama, but I feel that it is in the best interests of everyone involved."
Gottfried took the Crimson Tide to five straight NCAA tournaments from 2002-06, reaching the Elite Eight in 2004. In 2002, Gottfried led the team to a school record 27 wins and was named SEC Coach of the Year.
However, Alabama missed the last two NCAA tournaments and would likely have to win the SEC tournament to make it this season. In addition, star point guard Ronald Steele's announcement that he would forego his senior season may have been due in part to Gottfried's presence.
Steele has a plantar fasciitis injury, but said in a statement that the injury was not the reason for his departure, which led to speculation that he was unhappy with Gottfried.
"I accepted coach Gottfried's resignation," Moore said in a statement. "I respect Mark's decision and will begin immediately working on a permanent replacement.
"I agreed with him that it is in the best interests of the men's basketball program for us to move in a different direction. ... Out of respect for our players, I will make no further comment on coach Gottfried's decision."
Gottfried graduated from Alabama in 1987. He was a starter on the 1987 team that won the SEC regular-season title as well as the conference tournament.
He was named Academic All-Southeast Conference and was the 1986 Bryant Award winner as the school's top scholar-athlete.
Pearson takes over the top spot after a longtime tenure under Gottfried. Prior to his 10-plus seasons with the Crimson Tide, Pearson worked as an assistant under Gottfried in the final of his three years at Murray State in 1997-98.
"This was obviously not what I expected today when I came here to work," Pearson said.
"It's a tough situation and obviously Mark and I are very close. I worked with him for 14 years and coach Moore called me in today and asked if I would take over the team for the rest of the season. Certainly, I told him that I would. ... We are going to do all that we can to make the best of a challenging and tough situation."
