Doug Gottlieb Trades Radio Show For Free Time, Not Coaching Focus

This is a headline that should have existed in May 2024: Doug Gottlieb Steps Away from Radio Show to Coach College Basketball. Instead, we got: Doug Gottlieb Takes Division I Coaching Job While Still Hosting Daily Sports Talk Show. 

Now, in December 2025, the former headline applies. During an emotional press conference after Green Bay's win over UC Santa Barbara on Wednesday night, Gottlieb announced that he's taking a break from his daily radio show to focus on coaching. Well, that and spending more time with his family.

I've been pretty hard on Gottlieb during his brief tenure at Green Bay. The team won four games in his first season and rated as one of the worst D-I basketball teams in the entire country. Now, he had to deal with some factors beyond his control. The team had injury issues and dealt with the departure of several players due to the previous coaching staff. They also played an unusually difficult non-conference schedule. 

However, those didn't completely account for just how bad Green Bay was last season. To be fair to Gottlieb, the team has improved exponentially in year two. Green Bay already has six wins this season, surpassing last year's win total in the team's 12th game. The Phoenix currently sit 266th in KenPom rankings, which is a marked improvement from last year when the team finished 332nd. 

Gottlieb's Contradictory Press Conference 

When I first saw headlines that Gottlieb announced his decision to step away from his radio show to focus on coaching, I thought it was great news. I assumed that he had learned his lesson that it's impossible to hold those two jobs simultaneously and be at his best for both. I also assumed that his press conference would focus on how important coaching is to him and that's why he was making that decision. 

But then I watched it. And I was stunned. It doesn't sound like Gottlieb plans to actually spend more time coaching now that he doesn't have a radio show, but that he plans to use that extra time to be with his family. There's nothing wrong with that, but it implies that he thinks he's already doing all he can in the coaching world and the radio show was simply getting in the way of his free time. 

Doug Gottlieb says he’s stepping back from his daily radio show to prioritize coaching Green Bay and spending more time with his family. 

(Sarah Kloepping/USA TODAY Network-Wisconsin via Imagn Images)

His monologue was also filled with contradictions. 

"These kids [are owed] a fully dedicated coach. I know I'm fully dedicated … But you only get one shot at this thing," Gottlieb said. 

OK, so which is it? Saying that the kids are owed a fully dedicated coach implies that Gottlieb thinks he wasn't previously fully dedicated. But then he said he was fully dedicated. So, why step away from the radio show? 

"Last week, we go down to Indy and, because of the timing of my show, the bus had to leave without me and I flew. And I just don't think that's what I want to do as a coach," Gottlieb continued. 

That doesn't sound like a fully dedicated coach. That sounds like a fully dedicated radio show host, though. Which, again, is totally fine. That's why I criticized Gottlieb in the past. I felt he wasn't taking the coaching job as seriously as he needed to take it. Here's some of that proof. 

So, just be honest. Admit that you haven't been fully dedicated and now you plan to be. Instead, he kept saying he was completely committed to his job as a basketball coach while laying out all the ways he hasn't been. 

What Is This Really About? 

"I'll still be doing podcasts and iHeart has been amazing about it. So, we will transition to a different version of [the show] … But I'll do it [during my off time] and at home and I can even take days off, and I can have a life," he said. 

OK, so quitting the radio show isn't about spending more time coaching basketball, it's about spending more time with his family. Again, perfectly reasonable. However, when's the last time you heard a high-level successful coach, in any sport, talk about wanting more free time during the season? 

"[On] Thanksgiving, I had all three of my kids in town and I had to work on a Friday because I wanted to bank those holiday days for when we travel or for game prep or whatever," he continued. 

I must admit, this one is where I really started to think Gottlieb was trolling everyone. Did he really say that his job is tough because he had to work… on a Friday? If he's trying to garner some sympathy, this certainly wasn't the way to go about it. Again, just imagine Dan Hurley doing a press conference and bemoaning having to work on a Friday in the middle of the season. Everyone would tear him apart. Of course, Hurley would never say something like that, so the point is moot. 

After a year of juggling roles, Doug Gottlieb pauses his radio show to focus on coaching Green Bay, citing family time as a factor amid the Phoenix’s early-season improvement.

(Jay Biggerstaff/Imagn Images)

"It's really hard; it's going to be obviously a bit of a financial hit, and I've worked through it. I mean I've been blessed beyond all measure. But the Doug Gottlieb show on radio in the afternoon, as of now, we're going to take a break from it," Gottlieb said. 

Now we should feel sorry for Gottlieb because he's giving up his lucrative second job to spend more time with his family and on his first job. For what it's worth, Gottlieb makes around $250,000 per year to coach Green Bay, according to Sportico. 

"It's just, I've got to have a life. I've got to be here for those kids. And I got to really dig in because we're building something cool here," Gottlieb continued. 

Once again, he notes that he has to "have a life," which implies that his radio show decision is more about his free time than it is about spending more time focusing on basketball coaching.  And, once again, Gottlieb implies that he wasn't fully dedicated to his coaching job, saying that he has to "dig in." Don't worry, he made sure to quickly add that he was already dug in, even though he just said he wasn't. 

The Big Closer

"This is a special place. I want to be the coach that rises it from the ashes. And I'm fully dedicated to great basketball. I was always fully dedicated [so this] doesn't really change much, but that's what's going to happen," Gottlieb concluded. 

Gottlieb reminds us that he was "always fully dedicated" despite many comments that implied that wasn't the case. I do want to give him props for the "rises from ashes" comment, since he coaches the Phoenix. That's the kind of wordplay you can only get from a seasoned and talented radio show host. 

I texted with a close friend of mine about the Gottlieb announcement. He and I have spoken many times about the situation because we both find it incredibly interesting. I considered using his lines as my own, but that's not my style. What he wrote was so perfect that I have to share it with everyone. 

"He hasn’t built a machine of a program that can operate without him. He has a startup company, and he’s the CEO. But he does not have the startup entrepreneur’s attitude of sacrificing everything else to make it a success. Eat some Cup Noodles and sleep on the couch in the office, metaphorically speaking. 

"He has a caviar taste with a tuna fish program."

Couldn't have said it better myself.