The Orlando Magic announced on Thursday that they have fired head coach Jacque Vaughn.
The 39-year-old coach and former Magic player was informed of the decision on Thursday in Orlando. The Magic are 15-37 this season, his third as coach of the team. The players were informed at a mandatory team meeting around 1 p.m. EST. The move comes after the Magic dropped their 10th straight game with a 110-103 loss at San Antonio on Wednesday, concluding a tough three-game road trip. Orlando has lost 16 of their last 18 games.
Vaughn went 58-158 overall in his time with the Magic, and the team’s .269 win percentage during that time under Vaughn is the worst in the NBA during that span. Vaughn’s win percentage is the worst ever among Magic coaches and the second-worst in NBA history among coaches with at least 200 games.
Assistant coach James Borrego will become the interim head coach in the meantime, as team management mulls over their options during the forthcoming All-Star break.
Orlando management showed patience with Vaughn while the Magic went 43-121 over his first two seasons. He was hired after the firing of coach Stan Van Gundy to transition the Magic to a younger roster while rebuilding in the wake of Dwight Howard’s departure. The team has made plenty of roster acquisitions and draft picks since Vaughn’s hiring that many view as solid moves, yet Orlando has the same 15-37 record as it had through 52 games at this point last season. Orlando GM Rob Hennigan has brought in young and talented players such as Victor Oladipo and Elfrid Payton, who he views as his backcourt of the future, and was also able to acquire one of the NBA’s best young big men, Nik Vucevic, in the preceding Dwight Howard trade. Hennigan also added veterans Channing Frye and Ben Gordon to the team via free-agency this summer.
But the results just haven’t come.
Management were said to have been evaluating Vaughn’s coaching in recent weeks, and were actively pushing him to run a more uptemo attack, utilizing the team’s youth and quickness. The team’s playing style barely changed, and Vaughn was almost defiant as he addressed rumors about his looming firing. “I do my job every day,” Vaughn said on Jan. 30th. “I don’t abide by the tyranny of other people’s attitudes and moods. I’m ready to rock ‘n’ roll.”
Nik Vucevic stood by his coach when asked last week about the possible firing.
“I don’t think that his job should be on the line,” Vucevic said. “I think Jacque does his job well and I think he has all the players’ support. I can speak for myself: He’s always been there for me, believed in me and given me a chance and always had confidence in me. So I enjoy playing for him and I don’t think it’s his fault that we’re having a bad record right now. As players, we’ve got to find a better way.”
Hennigan traveled with the team to San Antonio on Wednesday night. The decision to replace Vaughn had apparently already been made recently, but the team’s front office wanted to wait until the All-Star break was near, giving the team some extra time to process the change.
Vaughn will likely land on his feet as an assistant somewhere else in the league, and could very well still become a good coach in the NBA. He could benefit with a return to San Antonio, where he was an assistant coach under Gregg Popovich for just two years before being hired by Orlando.
Shortly after his firing Thursday, Vaughn released a statement thanking Magic owner Rich Devos for his time with the team.
“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.”
Although Borrego has been named interim coach, several league executives have speculated that former Magic player Scott Skiles could be a front-runner for the job. Skiles played five of his 10 NBA seasons with the Magic. He was most recently the head coach of the Milwaukee Bucks, where he amassed a record of 162-181, reaching the playoffs in the 2010. Skiles resigned during the 2013-2014 season after five years with the team.
