Pat Riley was so successful and so arrogant during his heyday that the Miami Heat coach once wrote a book entitled "The Winner Within."
With four championship rings and surely more to come, the book was a bestseller, and Riley was considered one of the greatest coaches in NBA history.
But the slick, smooth persona of Riley has frayed during Miami's miserable season, and his coaching has been questioned.
"It's a mess," Riley said.
The 56-year-old Riley seems to get a new wrinkle on his face with each loss. He could resemble a prune by season's end.
Throughout the season, several players who once played for Riley have derided Riley's tactics and coaching ability. But the names behind the criticism serve as the best evidence that it's off base: Tim Hardaway, Anthony Mason, Ricky Davis, Voshon Lenard and Rodney Buford. (Rodney who? Exactly.)
Hardaway echoed others in lambasting Riley's controlling tendencies and excruciating practices.
What ties the players, aside from once being coached by Riley, is that almost all have struggled since leaving Miami. And the best-known players such as Hardaway and Mason have been shells of their former selves.
Ex-players such as Magic Johnson, Byron Scott and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar have nothing but praise for Riley.
"He's still one of the best coaches to coach this game," Scott said. "He gets the best out of his guys. Where else did Tim have better seasons than Miami?
"(Riley) pushes you and then you get that extra burst of energy, and you're able to perform."
Riley deserves some criticism, specifically the inability to get out of the first round of the playoffs three of the past four seasons. Miami's meltdown against Charlotte in three games last season was embarrassing.
But the criticism can go only so far because of Riley's body of work. Riley hasn't won a title since leaving the Lakers. Nonetheless, the former broadcaster has won at least 50 games in 18 of 19 seasons as a coach, one of the most remarkable achievements in the NBA.
Riley's main flaws are mixed personnel decisions and, ironically, a stubborn loyalty to players. Riley lost his best shot at a post-Lakers championship in the 1994 by showing too much faith in John Starks.
During Game 6 of the 1994 NBA Finals, Starks missed shot after shot, allowing Houston to stay in the game. Yet Riley told the former CBA player to keep launching. Starks finished shooting 2 for 18 in New York's loss. And the Rockets went on to win Game 7.
This past summer, Riley gave point guard Anthony Carter a three-year, $12 million deal. Hardaway's replacement has been like a minimum player. Last year, Riley gave maximum contracts to Eddie Jones and Brian Grant, who have performed like role players. But other teams would have lined up behind Riley to make those same deals.
And Riley has made his share of brilliant moves: trading Bimbo Coles and Kevin Willis to Golden State for Tim Hardaway and Chris Gatling in 1996, and shipping Sasha Danilovic, Kurt Rambis and Martin Muursepp to Dallas for Jamal Mashburn in 1997.
Much of Miami's woes this season have been out of Riley's control. Injured starters have caused Riley to use a myriad of starting lineups.
"It's a challenge," said Riley, who has never missed the playoffs in his coaching career. "I'm coming up with all kinds of things to try and say and do. I'm digging as deep as I've ever dug for a pearl."
The worst health problem involves Alonzo Mourning, although the 6-foot-10 center has hardly missed any games. A rare kidney disease has left Mourning without the energy and intensity that made him the best center not named Shaquille O'Neal.
The easy route for Riley would be exercising the clause in his contract, which allows him to remain president if he quits coaching.
Coming back from utter failure wasn't chronicled in "The Winner Within." But for Riley to regain some luster, he must show why he has always been a winner.
"It's fashionable now to think I'm leaving," Riley said. "But I'm not thinking about anything other than getting out of this."