Letter from former LSU coach Dale Brown to UK fans: Calipari is a great coach, fine man

John Calipari has been men’s basketball coach at Kentucky for 13 years and been to 10 NCAA Tournaments, and to four Final Fours and won one national championship.

Also, he has won 77 percent of all his games. Beyond this fantastic success he is a fine man.

Reading all the criticism he is receiving, I hope Kentucky does not make the same mistake they made in 1959 with their entire football coaching staff. Between 1959 and 1961 the administration at the University of Kentucky parted ways with the entire football staff, which included the following men:

-- Head coach Blanton Collier, who went on to the Cleveland Browns as head coach.

-- Don Shula, who went on to the Miami Dolphins as head coach.

-- Howard Schnellenberger, who went on to the Baltimore Colts as head coach.

-- Bill Arnsparger, who went on to the New York Giants as head coach.

-- John North, who went on to the New Orleans Saints as head coach.-- Bob Cummings, who went on to the New Orleans Saints as an assistant coach.

-- Ed Rutledge, who went on to the New York Giants as an assistant coach.

-- Ermal Allen, who went on to the Dallas Cowboys as an assistant coach.

The inventor of the game of basketball, Dr. James Naismith, was fired at Kansas because they said the game had passed him by.

It took John Wooden 16 years to win his first national championship at UCLA. With the impatience now displayed by fans and administration he would have been fired. To all you wonderful Kentucky fans and administration: Remember, a good coach has the ability to change a game, but a great coach can change a player’s life, and Coach Calipari has most certainly done that.

Please do not holler, sit down, Dale (LOL).

Note: Dale Brown led the LSU men’s basketball team to two Final Four appearances, four SEC championships and 448 victories between 1972 and 1997.

This story was originally published March 19, 2022 at 12:47 PM.