The NBA's Epidemic of Fired Coaches

¹²³ · Dec 17, 2008

At a time when hundreds of thousands of Americans are getting pink slips, it's hard to feel much sympathy for someone walking away with a six- or seven-figure severance package. But at least the assembly-line worker usually gets a few weeks', or at least days', notice; NBA coaches are gone in an instant.

And lately, a staggering number of them are disappearing. So far this season, which is barely a quarter of the way over, six NBA head coaches, or 20% of the total, have already been fired; the latest victim, Sacramento's Reggie Theus, just got the news on Monday. That's a new record for axings before Christmas. The other casualties include Sam Mitchell, the 2006-07 NBA Coach of the Year for the Toronto Raptors, fired by the club on Dec. 3; Maurice Cheeks, the beloved ex-champion point guard for the Philadelphia 76ers, canned by the Sixers last weekend despite winning widespread admiration for turning Philly into a playoff team a year ago; Eddie Jordan, the first coach in 28 years to lead the Washington Wizards to four straight playoff appearances, cut down after a 1-10 start; Randy Wittman of the Minnesota Timberwolves and P.J. Carlesimo of the Oklahoma City Thunder.

Coaches, of course, have always been convenient scapegoats for a team's failure to perform, especially as player salaries have skyrocketed. But many observers believe this most recent trend of quick triggers has reached laughable levels. "Head coaches may be hearing all this talk about how 'we're all in this together,'" says Jeff Van Gundy, former coach of the New York Knicks and Houston Rockets and now an ABC/ESPN analyst. "In reality, not really. Unless your name is [nine-time title winner] Phil Jackson, [four-time title winner] Gregg Popovich, [21-year Utah Jazz coach] Jerry Sloan or ['08 champ] Doc Rivers, if you lose three games in a row, you're instantly on the hot seat. I really do believe that."
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I do think all this coach changes are getting out of hand.

Dee-Zy · Dec 17, 2008

don't they have contracts? Thus, they still have their money even if they are fired?

speeds · Dec 18, 2008

Dee-Zy said: ↑

don't they have contracts? Thus, they still have their money even if they are fired?
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Yes. Some will be bought-out but others will continue to get paid depending on the length and provisions of their contracts.

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The NBA's Epidemic of Fired Coaches

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