CHICAGO— A coach’s son who would later follow in his father’s footsteps, Tab Baldwin has known pressure all his life.
But throughout a decorated career that netted him nine combined championships and eight Coach of the Year awards, he has never been tested like this before.
READ Tab Baldwin on Ateneo tragedy: 'To the depth of my being, I'm sorry'
Not only is the New Zealander from Florida losing grip of his job, he could potentially be fighting for his freedom.
With the walls caving in following Monday’s drowning incident where student-athletes Divine Adili and Rene Baterbonia died, it looks like Baldwin is waving the white flag.
TAB TO TAP OUT?
Multiple sources told me on Saturday night that the sharp-witted, strong-minded 68-year old is seriously considering resigning as Ateneo head coach.
Forfeiting 30 months and a hefty sum of money left on his guaranteed contract is a tough decision to make.
It is also the right call.
Baldwin would be leading by example, practicing accountability and prudence, ethos that helped define the Blue Eagles program that he shaped into a dynasty beginning in 2016.
Vacating his position allows coach Tab to talk freely to investigators and completely break a numbing silence that became the flashpoint of a national outrage over a perceived, rightly or wrongly, cover-up.
Unbeknownst to many, Baldwin is a near-broken man over the loss of “my two boys.”
WHEN TRAGEDY STRIKES.
Sleep is scarce, focus is elusive, while the appetite for food barely exists.
“But my struggles are nothing compared to what Rene’s and Divine’s loved ones are going through,” he told me after our live podcast interview on YouTube last Friday night.
One of the greatest runs in UAAP men’s basketball history appears to now have a date on the calendar.
If this is really it, goodbye coach Tab Baldwin.
And good luck.
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