This is true. To be honest he might still be an up and coming coach. Virtually all of the guys we think of as big name coaches failed at their first stop.
First NBA head coaching gig:
Philip Jackson - Chicago Bulls
Doc Rivers - Orlando, was COTY in his first season
Tom Thibodeau - Chicago Bulls, COTY year 1, tied the win record for first year coaches
Gregg Popovich - San Antonio Spurs
Jeff Hornacek - Phoenix Suns
I think Corbin's failure has to do with his system. He played so many flex sets which depend too much on a very good point guard, which the Jazz didn't have for multiple seasons.
Also flex sets have really been limited in output, since everybody in the league trys to play Thibodeau's "2.9 Defense", which piloted successfully in Boston and got taken to another level in Chicago.
Coincidentally, I think Thibodeau's system is what may hinder Derrick Rose to live up to his hype. Since his knee injury the teams have really transformed their defenses to 2.9-style which really limits the effectiveness of Rose's strengths(avoiding contact, absorbing contact, drawing fouls) because these type of defenses have a lot of mechanisms that deny full penetration to the hoop.
And it's what really helps Dragic shine and a declining Chris Paul stay significant, because they control the midrange game.
Take for example a team like the Toronto Raptors of last year:
PG Lowry(Good 3 point shooter, very good passer, mediocre around the basket)
SG DeRozan(Improving, but still below average shooter, very good slasher,astonishingly good ballhandler, surprisingly good passer)
SF Terrence Ross(Skinny, streaky shooter, still efficient overall as a shooter)
PF Amir Johnson(Range until the free throw line, okay in a lot categories, good at timing his rolls to the basket, sees holes which help the ball handler make basic passes)
C Valanciunas(Can Dunk, improving, but still below avg touch around the basket, good rolling to the basket, good at setting screens)
So this team basically has 2 guys that can shoot. How the heck did they become a top3 regular season team after trading Gay?
They develop everything around Horns. Horns forces way more defensive decision making and rotations, and the angles it creates allow dribble penetration on multiple layers. These rotations create confusion in 2.9 defenses because they force more decisions and that includes a higher likelihood that mistakes are made and player are open.
This team basically has Johnson who can pop out for elbow Js and that's not good spacing, but because it includes so many multi layered screens, it allows your PG to make easy decisions and see the best out if he knows how to pace his dribble and work with hesitation.
The Jazz had just as good personnel with 1 exception, their coach was just brainwashed and didn't realize his system isn't working any longer without an elite PG and guys that really know how to move w/o the ball. He failed to fit his system towards his players strengths and that's why Corbin's coaching was miserable.
