Magic fire head coach Jacque Vaughn; Scott Skiles a rumored replacement
Amid a 10-game losing streak and 15-37 season, the Orlando Magic are making a change on the bench.
The Magic called a mandatory team meeting for 1 p.m. ET on Thursday, where it was expected they would tell players that head coach Jacque Vaughn has been fired. The meeting was first reported by Chris Broussard of ESPN, with Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo Sports reporting shortly after that Vaughn has been let go.
The team made the news official, announcing the firing of Vaughn and three of his assistant coaches and naming James Borrego the team's interim head coach. General manager Rob Hennigan commented in the release:
Jacque (Vaughn) has been a trusted friend and colleague. We thank him immensely for his contributions and sacrifices in bringing our team to this point, and we greatly appreciate his unwavering commitment to our organization. We have tremendous respect for Jacque and certainly wish him the best as he embarks on the next phase of his career.
Vaughn released a statement, as well, thanking ownership and the organization:
I would like to thank Mr. DeVos and family for the opportunity of representing the Orlando Magic as head coach. I am a stronger and wiser man and coach because of the opportunity. I look forward to seeing this group continue to grow. God bless, good luck. Jacque Vaughn...Proverbs 3:5-6.
Vaughn took over ahead of the 2012-13 season, tasked with helping rebuild the team in the post-Dwight Howard era. In three seasons, Vaughn led the Magic to a 58-158 record, netting the team a No. 2 (Victor Oladipo) and No. 4 (Aaron Gordon) pick in the process.
They also landed Elfrid Payton thanks to a pick owed to them, creating an enticing young core to move forward with.
Magic brass ultimately determined that, while young, the team was not developing in the form or at the pace the organization expected. The team's displeasure with Vaughn's performance had been an open secret all season, with the writing about Vaughn's long-term future more or less on the wall.
Fair or not, the team's 25th-ranked offense and defense have both underperformed relative to expectations, even though Payton and Oladipo, in particular, have taken encouraging strides.
The Magic couldn't have been expected to contend for a playoff spot at this point in their development curve, but the club obviously expected better than the league's fifth-worst record and fourth-worst adjusted net rating.
Borrego isn't likely to hold the job for long, with the interim position being a very short-term arrangement. Wojnarowski reports that there's a good possibility the Magic make a change during the extended All-Star break, giving a new coach the necessary time to prepare for the season's second half.
The Magic also have a relatively forgiving schedule over the next few weeks, which would afford a new coach the opportunity to hit the ground running.
Scott Skiles is considered among the favorites to land the full-time position.
Over 13 seasons as the head coach for three different teams, Skiles compiled a 443-433 record and made six playoff appearances. He last manned a bench in 2012-13, when the Milwaukee Bucks fired him 32 games into the season.
Known for his acumen on the defensive end of the floor, Skiles, a former Magic player himself, is a somewhat uncreative offensive mind, albeit one who has at least shown a willingness to play a fast and entertaining style. The bigger issue with Skiles may be that he's said to have little patience for the mistakes that accompany young players, something he'll need to be more flexible with given the Magic's roster.
Deposed Sacramento Kings coach Mike Malone and Skiles' replacement with the Chicago Bulls, Vinny Del Negro, are also said to be candidates, with the franchise looking to add toughness and discipline behind the bench.