Coaching carousel provides link with Landry
George Pfeifer’s basketball coaching career includes numerous championships, a Sports Illustrated article and a link to legendary Dallas Cowboys coach Tom Landry.
Pfeifer, an accomplished narrator, tells the Landry story.
“I remember watching ESPN when Tom Landry got fired,” said Pfeifer, an assistant coach at Lewis-Clark State College at the time. “I said, ‘Hey, (wife) Sue, I’m going to be the new head coach (at LCSC).’ “
And that’s exactly what happened in 1989 when Jimmy Johnson left Miami for Dallas, Dennis Erickson left Washington State for Miami, Mike Price left Weber State for Washington State and athletic director/head coach Dick Hannan left LCSC for Weber State to become A.D., a title also held by Price.
Pfeifer left LCSC after 16 successful seasons to become an assistant coach at Idaho this year. He fielded questions from The Spokesman-Review about his 27 years in coaching.
Q: What did you learn from coaching high school at Hardin (Mont.) and St. Maries, your alma mater?
A: Particularly in Hardin, it was a tougher environment, and they were something like 5-56 when I came there, but I thought there was talent. It demonstrated to me that discipline was important and getting people to adhere. In 16 of our first 18 games we didn’t have a full squad because people were sitting for one reason or another.
Q: How did the Idaho job come about? Did you approach (head coach) Leonard Perry or did he approach you?
A: I think he was in search mode, and so was I. I wanted to be in this world, and the opportunity to coach with Leonard made it even more desirable.
Q: Are there some favorable aspects to being an assistant compared to a head coach?
A: No. Your stomach is just as knotted. Good assistants try to behave like head coaches, but they follow the head coach’s advice and direction.
Q: There was a Sports Illustrated article about some of your players at Hardin. What was it about?
A: It was an article titled “Shadow of a Nation” back in 1984. The cover had the Dream Team with Michael Jordan, Charles Barkley and Karl Malone. The article was about basketball on the Crow Indian Reservation and primarily involved Lodge Grass High and Hardin.
Q: Best moment in basketball?
A: My third year at LCSC we qualified for the national tournament. I didn’t go to sleep that night. That (win) helped turn the program.
Q: Worst moment?
A: I can’t remember the year, ‘95 or ‘96, we’re at home, up two against Simon Fraser with 3 seconds to go. They run a play and a guy hits a 3 from about 28 feet and beats us. It was like being in a slow car wreck.
Q: Leonard Perry, (assistant coach) Leroy Washington and you play a round-robin 1-on-1 tournament. Who wins?
A: (Laughing) Being a good assistant coach, I say coach Perry.