Selecting A Staff - Doc Rivers

Some thoughts on creating your coaching staff from Doc Rivers, Head Coach of the Boston Celtics:

- Build your staff based on the idea of what your team should be. Ask yourself what do you want your team to stand for? Hire accordingly. Things Doc looks for is loyalty, talent, and team players

- Engaging Assistants. Don't hire "yes men". Look for people that will provide insight into what will make you better. Debate, explore, decide, and implement.

*** Pat Riley "Beginners are open. Experts are closed. The challenge is to stay open."

- Take a page from the football coaching mentality. Find staff members that have strengths that compliment each other. Much like football coaches being position specific and/or offensively or defensively specific, find coaches that fill voids. Doc says, "Give them room to be great!"

- If you tell your team to play their roles, shouldn't you do the same with you and your staff?

- The X's and O's don't matter. What matters is if you and your staff can get the players to buy in. Assistant coaches must buy in to the system and goal(s) as much as, if not more than, the players.