In a shocking move by the Indiana Pacers, team president Larry Bird has announced he wasn’t going to bring back coach Frank Vogel for next season nor renegotiate a new contract for him to be a part of the future. The news comes only days after the team was eliminated from the first round of the playoffs at the hands of the Toronto Raptors.
Vogel went 250-181 with the team in his tenure, with a record of 31-30 in the playoffs.
“Decided it’s time for a new voice around here. Sometimes my job really sucks. I had time to think about it and watch the team throughout the year. I had higher expectations than most people on how our team should play. I came to a conclusion it’s time for these guys to hear a new voice. Made a decision not to renew [Vogel’s contract].”
After missing the playoffs in numerous seasons before he took over as coach, Vogel took the team to the promise land for much of his career there, leading them to the Eastern Conference finals in consecutive seasons and back-to-back Central Division titles.
Things started going south last season when the Pacers missed the playoffs because of Paul George‘s gruesome Team USA injury and the team dynamics changed when Roy Hibbert left for the Los Angeles Lakers and David West to the San Antonio Spurs.
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