WASHINGTON - DECEMBER 18: Head coach Flip Saunders of the Washington Wizards watches the game against the Miami Heat at the Verizon Center on December 18 2010 in Washington DC. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that by downloading and or using this Photograph user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Greg Fiume/Getty Images)
After another road loss, it's tempting to start to point some fingers. Last night, a lot of fingers were pointed at Flip Saunders after he coached what I thought was a pretty subpar game. I saw all the calls to fire him this second, and I get the frustration.
But that's just not the right answer right now. A lot of people seem to assume that getting rid of a head coach in-season will magically cause the players to play differently, but that's not usually how it works. Instead, what usually happens is that an assistant with the same system and prejudices towards certain guys is promoted, and little really changes. In the end, all you're really doing is eating more money needlessly.
When Eddie Jordan was about to fired in midseason of 2008/09, I ran an analysis of just how well interim coaches actually did compared to the man they replaced. At the time, only five of the 13 coaches replaced since 2004/05 actually had a better winning percentage than the guy he replaced, and the only one to make a significant difference was George Karl in 2004/05. Of course, that case is a bit of an outlier, because it involved actually finding a coach willing to come aboard from outside the organization in the middle of the season, which rarely happens. Since then, here's a list of teams who have fired their coach in midseason:
- 2008/09 Wizards: Replaced Eddie Jordan (1-10) with Ed Tapscott (18-53)
- 2008/09 76ers: Replaced Maurice Cheeks (9-14) with Tony DiLeo (32-27)
- 2008/09 Raptors: Replaced Sam Mitchell (8-9) with Jay Triano (25-40)
- 2008/09 Timberwolves: Replaced Randy Wittman (4-15) with Kevin McHale (20-43)
- 2008/09 Thunder: Replaced P.J. Carlisemo (1-12) with Scott Brooks (22-47)
- 2008/09 Suns: Replaced Terry Porter (28-23) with Alvin Gentry (18-13)
- 2008/09 Kings: Replaced Reggie Theus (6-18) with Kenny Natt (11-47)
- 2008/09 Grizzlies: Replaced Marc Ivaroni (11-30) with Lionel Hollins (13-26)
- 2009/10 Nets: Replaced Lawrence Frank (0-16) with Kiki Vandeweghe (12-52)
- 2009/10 Clippers: Replaced Mike Dunleavy (21-28) with Kim Hughes (8-25)
- 2009/10 Hornets: Replaced Byron Scott (4-9) with Jeff Bower (34-39)
- 2010/11 Bobcats: Replaced Larry Brown (9-19) with Paul Silas (7-5 so far)
- Philadelphia: Doug Collins (17-24, 42% winning percentage) replaces Eddie Jordan (27-55, 33% winning percentage)
- New Jersey: Avery Johnson (11-31, 26% winning percentage) replaces Kiki (12-52, 19% winning percentage)
- Chicago: Tom Thibodeau (28-14, 67% winning percentages) replaces Vinny Del Negro (41-41, 50% winning percentage)
- Cleveland: Byron Scott (8-33, 20% winning percentage) replaces Mike Brown 61-21, 74% winning percentage)
- Atlanta: Larry Drew (28-15, 65% winning percentage) replaces Mike Woodson (53-29, 65% winning percentage)
- Golden State: Keith Smart (18-23, 46% winning percentage) replaces Don Nelson (26-56, 32% winning percentage)
- LA Clippers: Del Negro (16-41, 39% winning percentage) replaces Hughes (8-33, 24% winning percentage)
- New Orleans: Monty Williams (27-16, 63% winning percentage) replaces Bower (34-39, 47% winning percentage)
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