“He didn’t go to Manchester United because of me. I was against it,” says Jean Stein, wife of legendary Celtic coach Jock Stein.
In 1971, Sir Matt Busby approached Stein to take over from him at Manchester United. At that point, Stein had won six straight Scottish league titles with Celtic, including winning a ‘quintuple’ in 1967, the year they won the European Cup.
The whole event is detailed in Stein’s authorized biography, told through the lens of those closest to him — his wife, kids, former players, and business advisors.
After watching Liverpool play Leeds in a Cup tie at Anfield, Stein drove to a nearby gas station just off the highway. Five minutes later, Busby pulled in.
“My dad went to Sir Matt’s car and they talked things over for forty-five minutes,” says George Stein, Jock’s son. “I was there when the official offer was made. I was about sixteen, and I knew that I was watching football history in the making. All the way home he talked about the offer, and I was sure he was going to take it,” George Stein recalls.
George was a United fan who loved Denis Law, and would relish getting to attend games at Old Trafford. “I wanted him to take it. I really did,” says George, adding, “by then I thought he had achieved everything it was possible for him to achieve at Celtic.”
Ray Stein, Jock’s daughter, agreed. “George and I wanted him to go to Manchester United. It just seemed to be the right job for him. George had just been accepted at college in Manchester, and the club was one my dad always talked about,” she adds.
Gerry Woolard, Stein’s accountant, estimates that his Stein’s base salary at Celtic was never more than £10,000, and even with trophy bonuses he never made more than £16,000 in a season. Stein never shared the financial details of the United offer, but his closest confidantes believe he would’ve commanded four-to-five times the salary he was making in Glasgow.
“He knew that my mum was totally opposed to the move,” says George. “She wanted to stay in Scotland, and even though Manchester wasn’t all that far away she just didn’t want to leave her home, her family and her friends. That weighed heavily with him.”
Despite both of her children wanting Jock to take the job, and the promise of an enormous salary, Jean Stein couldn’t bring herself to make the move. She had her reasons, too. “I didn’t want to go to Manchester to live because Ray was getting married at that time and it seemed we would be so far away from her and our family,” she reflects. “George wanted to go as he was going to go to university there, and Jock wanted to go because he would have liked to be there at Old Trafford. Now, thinking about it, maybe I was stupid…”
I’m writing this post because coaches are often faced with this type of conundrum. It could be multiple simultaneous job offers, it could be moving away from family or to an unknown country, or it could be attempting to predict whether a job is ‘right’ for you.
Whatever the case, it’s rarely straightforward. And the universe tends to conspire to ensure that all of your options have both large upside and large downside.
Jock Stein had a family situation where his kids were grown, he was offered a massive job, with a massive salary, close to home, and with people he knew. On the face of it, it’s a no brainer. But it still wasn’t enough for him. His wife said no, so he said no. You have to admire someone who makes their decisions in a principled way like that.
“He could have made a lot more money if he had gone to Manchester United, there’s no doubting that,” Jean admits. “But money was never Jock’s god.”
How To Choose
I’m not exactly sure how to advise you on what job to take and what job to decline. The ‘right’ opportunity is so contextual and based on so many technical, financial, and personal factors that it’s near-on impossible to decipher what ‘right’ means.
Beyond that, I’ve seen ‘right’ opportunities go sideways (quickly), and I’ve seen ‘wrong’ opportunities turn into career-best work.
What I can offer is a simple Yes/No paradigm:
YES: Gather as much information as possible to help inform your decision. Visit the facilities, speak to the receptionist, ask questions, drive to the local bakery, call your colleagues. It’s easy to rush, especially with expiring offers and impatient executives — but speed of decision serves them, not you. Make sure you’re as informed as possible before deciding.
NO: Resulting. Once you’ve decided, do not base your opinion of the quality of your decision on the result of the decision. Your decision was made at the point in time that you made it, and that’s all there is to it. What happens in the future, good or bad, is irrelevant to when you made your decision.
Unfortunately for Jock Stein, an awful lot of resulting occurred. On both sides.
Ray Stein, his daughter, offers up: “I think he regretted not taking the Manchester United job.”
Tony Queen, Stein’s best friend, agrees with Ray: “Probably he regretted it, but I reckon Manchester United must have regretted it more down the years. If he had gone there they would not have had all the problems which have plagued them. He would have turned them around.”
Three years after Stein turned down Busby’s offer, Manchester United were relegated.
Former Celtic and Manchester United player Pat Crerand, who acted as a go-between for the whole deal, also believes Stein would’ve avoided that fate: “If Jock had come to United then the years of troubles and problems would never have taken place. He was the man who would have kept United at the top.”
Years later, the trauma and regret of not taking the United job would rear its ugly head again after Stein’s messy exit from Celtic.
Now out of work, Stein received an offer from Leeds United to manage them. This time, he took the offer, but faced the same situation: Jean didn’t want to move.
“The situation at Leeds came close to splitting our family,” recalls George, saying that, again, he had pressed his mother to move to England. This time, she visited Leeds to look at houses, but still wasn’t keen.
Forty-four days after taking the Leeds job, Stein received another call. “Luckily, the Scotland job came up and Jock was approached for that and everything worked out for the best,” Jean chuckles.