Coach Anthony Grant has recently become the talk of the town when it comes to college basketball. The Dayton University alum, who is also the head coach for his alma mater, has gone from being fired from a high-profile college coaching job to winning every national coach of the year award — all in a matter of five years.

His journey serves as a gentle reminder that rough patches in life are only temporary. His ability to overcome the ebbs and flows in his career has endowed him to be in the receiving end of a massive salary. 

Grant has Received Five Coach of The Year Awards this Season

Grant and his team, the Dayton Flyers, have been nothing short of legendary this season (2020) with a school-best 29-2 record as of 20th October 2020.

 The college team is currently No. 3 in national ranking and has a perfect and unprecedented 18-0 record in the Atlantic 10 Conference. 

Coach Anthony Grant with his team

Anthony Grant with the Dayton Flyers (Photo Source: Facebook)

Not just that, the team had the nation's best 20-game winning streak that might have kept going if it wasn't for the global pandemic. As the gyms shut down and the basketball courts emptied, Grant, his wife, and their four kids headed home to Bellbrook. 

Despite being off-the-field, it did not stop his admirers from finding him. He has been awarded the title of the coach of the year by the Associated Press, Sporting News, the U.S. Basketball Writers Association, and the National Association of Basketball Coaches.

He was recently named the prestigious Naismith Men's College Coach of the Year and became the third coach in the award's 34-year-long-history to win after being fired from a Division I job.

Grant was previously Fired From the University Of Alabama

This breakout season did not come without the sting of past experiences. Before his time with the Flyers, Grant had been through a very humbling experience when he was fired from head men's basketball coach from the University of Alabama—he earned $1.83 million per year for his services there.

The announcement was made by former Alabama athletic director Bill Battle on March 15, 2015, after Grant missed the NCAA tournament for the fifth time in his six-year-tenure.

After he was let go from Alabama in 2015, he joined his mentor and friend Billy Donovan onto the NBA's Oklahoma City Thunder staff. Grant and Donovan had previously worked together as coaches for 10 years at the University of Florida.

Grant was the Team Captain And MVP at Dayton University

Grant did not stay away from the college basketball scene for a long time. In the spring of 2017, Grant was approached by the University of Dayton's Athletic Director Neil Sullivan.

Previously, Grant had played for Dayton and was team captain and MVP under coach Donoher from 1983 to 1987, and since March 30, 2017, he has also been one of the 20 head coaches in Flyer Basketball history. 

The esteemed position is also a very well paying one, as the head coach of the Dayton Flyers he gets an estimated salary amount of $1.195 million every year, according to Sports USA Today.