Grant was a very good assistant coach for his good friend from 1996-2006, and will be so again while waiting for his next head coaching opportunity. It also means that when Alabama plays Florida next season Donovan finally won't feel the need to be his bigger cheerleader and go on and on about what a good person and coach Grant is after crushing him on the court.
Grant is a good person and you just don't go 117-85 at this level without being a good coach. However, Alabama gave him a huge contract to be a great one, and with Bruce Pearl at Auburn it was pretty obvious which program was on the rise and which was poised to have a long season in 2015-16.
Considering the high points of the Grant era were a division title in 2010-11 (which still didn't result in an NCAA bid), and a quick 58-57 exit from the 2012 NCAA tournament at the hands of Creighton, his exit was years in the making.
Grant started losing his own players when they started transferring at a rate comparable to those graduating. Consequently, Alabama really never had a full roster the six years he was at the helm.
Grant started losing the media when it was announced that his players would only participate interviews when he was in the room. Reporters could still ask for a one-on-one, but the reaction was "What's the point?"-- and it showed in the subsequent coverage.
It's more difficult to tell when Grant started losing the fans, but perhaps more telling was that he never really won them over. His tenure was comparable to the student section for games at Coleman Coliseum: They wanted someone or something to get excited about, while he always came across as distant.
This is one of those times that parting ways may have been best for everyone involved, which has only been reinforced by Grant heading back to be with the Gators. Don't be surprised if he starts being groomed as the "heir apparent," while the Crimson Tide hopes to ride the next wave in a rising Southeastern Conference.
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