Newly-promoted Celtics President of Basketball Operations Brad Stevens has won a lot of basketball games.
But Stevens has never truly been a winner.
As NASCAR legend Dale Earnhardt famously said – inspiring the maybe more well-known quip from Will Ferrell's Ricky Bobby character in the comedy Talladega Nights – second place is just the first loser.
Stevens twice led Butler to the National Championship game, only to come up short against Duke and UConn.
He then took full advantage of his hot head coaching status to jump to the Celtics as Danny Ainge's replacement for departing Doc Rivers in the summer of 2013.
Since then he led the Celtics to 354 regular season wins and seven consecutive postseason berths, the most recent wrapping up with Tuesday night's loss in Brooklyn to the high-powered Nets.
After earning a reputation as a coach who could get the most out of his team and his talent, leading try-hard, overachieving squads, that simply hasn't been the reality in recent years.
Sure Stevens led the Celtics to three Eastern Conference Finals appearances in a four-year span. But all three ended in defeat.
And of late, Stevens' troops have actually underachieved.
That included falling to the Heat in the Conference Finals in last fall's bubble and having to win a play-in tournament game to even reach the postseason this spring.
Despite varied rosters of talent that's included All-Stars, All-NBA players, future Hall of Famers and big-money acquisitions, Stevens never even reached the NBA Finals in his eight years in Boston, never mind bring home Banner No. 18.
Sure, he has a stellar reputation. Clearly, Ainge and Celtics ownership love Stevens. Spurs Hall of Fame coach Greg Popovich is a big fan.
But in the bottom line business of the NBA, Stevens has never been able to finish the job and win a ring. Never did in college, either, despite building the Butler program to prominence.
And as we are well aware of in these parts, rings define sports legends whether they are players, coaches or management.
Ask Tom Brady and Bill Belichick. Or ask Dan Marino and Charles Barkley.
That doesn't mean the adopted Masshole Stevens wasn't a good coach. And he certainly seems like a good guy, a guy people root for and gravitate toward. He professes a loyal passion for the Celtics organization, regardless of the role he's in.
Heck, the fact that lottery picks-turned-All Stars Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum chose to sign extensions in Boston without even a hint of drama is a feather in Stevens' developmental coaching cap.
But this isn't about popularity, feathered caps or good guys…it's about rings, banners and titles.
That's the bar set in the Celtics organization and really in all of Boston sports.
Now, Stevens must replace Ainge, who in his four decades of service to the Celtics organization was uniquely successful in winning a title as both a player and executive.
Say what you want about the so-called title drought in recent years or question his tactics rebuilding the Celtics after the second Big Three of Kevin Garnett, Paul Pierce and Ray Allen ran its course, but Ainge finished his job, adding a banner to the TD Garden rafters.
Even Stevens joked in his introductory press conference Wednesday afternoon as he begins his search to replace himself as Celtics head coach that the next guy doesn't have to fill the big shoes of a championship winner like Rivers or K.C. Jones.
Nope, the next Boston coach just has to be better than the last guy in the job, Stevens noted of himself.
And that guy never finished his job. Never won a title.
Stevens, with his somewhat curious promotion, does have big shoes to fill. He does have to replace a franchise legend who won.
And the harsh reality is that's something Stevens has never proven he can do.
