Phoenix Suns fans have been less than thrilled with head coach Earl Watson‘s tenure, but there are other coaches that are on hotter seats than him.
Earl Watson‘s time as the Phoenix Suns head coach has been less than stellar to say the least. Unless Watson makes some drastic changes to the team’s playbook, it seems his time in Phoenix is limited. Before fans get to trigger happy with dismissing Watson, there are at least five other NBA head coaches on hotter seats than the Suns head coach.
The order of the coaches listed below does not represent any type of ranking of their job security.
Detroit Pistons
Stan Van Gundy is entering his fourth season as the Detroit Pistons head coach and president of basketball operations, but he has had an uneven tenure in the Motor City. Van Gundy led the Pistons to the playoffs during his second season, but the team regressed during his third season and he was unable to lead themback to postseason play. Even though Van Gundy has an impressive coaching resume, that may not be able to save his job.
| Regu | Regu | Regu | Regu | Regu | Regu | Play | Play | Play | Play | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Lg | Tm | G | W | L | W/L% | W > .500 | Finish | G | W | L | W/L% | Notes |
| 2003-04 | NBA | MIA | 82 | 42 | 40 | .512 | 1.0 | 2 | 13 | 6 | 7 | .462 | |
| 2004-05 | NBA | MIA | 82 | 59 | 23 | .720 | 18.0 | 1 | 15 | 11 | 4 | .733 | |
| 2005-06 | NBA | MIA | 21 | 11 | 10 | .524 | 0.5 | 1 | |||||
| 2007-08 | NBA | ORL | 82 | 52 | 30 | .634 | 11.0 | 1 | 10 | 5 | 5 | .500 | |
| 2008-09 | NBA | ORL | 82 | 59 | 23 | .720 | 18.0 | 1 | 24 | 13 | 11 | .542 | EC Champions |
| 2009-10 | NBA | ORL | 82 | 59 | 23 | .720 | 18.0 | 1 | 14 | 10 | 4 | .714 | |
| 2010-11 | NBA | ORL | 82 | 52 | 30 | .634 | 11.0 | 2 | 6 | 2 | 4 | .333 | |
| 2011-12 | NBA | ORL | 66 | 37 | 29 | .561 | 4.0 | 3 | 5 | 1 | 4 | .200 | |
| 2014-15 | NBA | DET | 82 | 32 | 50 | .390 | -9.0 | 5 | |||||
| 2015-16 | NBA | DET | 82 | 44 | 38 | .537 | 3.0 | 3 | 4 | 0 | 4 | .000 | |
| 2016-17 | NBA | DET | 82 | 37 | 45 | .451 | -4.0 | 5 | |||||
| Career | NBA | 825 | 484 | 341 | .587 | 71.5 | 91 | 48 | 43 | .527 | |||
| 3 seasons | NBA | MIA | 185 | 112 | 73 | .605 | 19.5 | 28 | 17 | 11 | .607 | ||
| 5 seasons | NBA | ORL | 394 | 259 | 135 | .657 | 62.0 | 59 | 31 | 28 | .525 | ||
| 3 seasons | NBA | DET | 246 | 113 | 133 | .459 | -10.0 | 4 | 0 | 4 | .000 |
Provided by Basketball-Reference.com: View Original Table
Generated 9/11/2017.
If Van Gundy wants to keep his job longer than Watson does in Phoenix, than the Piston’s head man will have to make several things better. First, the Pistons will have to get back into the playoffs. That means the team will have to get better play from Andre Drummond, Reggie Jackson, and Stanely Johnson. Van Gundy will have work on his player development skills with that young group of players.
Secondly, last season the Piston ranked in the bottom half of the league for the majority of offensive categories. The team also struggled in both steals and blocks as well. Some of the struggle goes on the players, but Van Gundy has to improve his offensive scheme and push players to be more aggressive on defense as well.
If the Pistons start out slow to begin the season, Van Gundy may want to think about how he and his brother will work together on television.
Phoenix Suns
New Orleans Pelicans
After re-signing Jrue Holiday and having the ultimate twin tower combo in Anthony Davis and DeMarcus Cousins, the New Orleans Pelicans head coach Alvin Gentry has more pressure now than ever to succeed. Gentry has dealt with injury issues and uneven roster configuration, as well as a loaded western conference. During his two season tenure with Pelicans, Gentry has a win percentage of 39 percent and has yet to make it to the playoffs. Gentry only made a small improvement in his second season with four wins from his first season.
Gentry will still have to deal with the poor team configuration, thanks to general manager Dell Demps. The good news for Gentry is that he has four All-Stars in Holiday, Cousins, Davis, and Rajon Rondo, but he has to find a way to make things work with those weird assortment of players. If he can make it work then his job is secure. However, if he does not and the postseason is out of reach, then Gentry should start looking for jobs as a lead assistant coach again. The lack of pressure to win is why Watson is in a safer play then Gentry.
Philadelphia 76ers
Brett Brown has been stuck with one of the worst rosters ever since he joined the Philadelphia 76ers as their head coach in 2013. Brown has had to deal with roster turnover and G-League talent filling more than half the roster during his tenure. However, Brown now has a great young core in Joel Embiid, Ben Simmons, and Markelle Fultz. Now unlike the previous two coaches, Brown does not need to make the playoffs to keep his job, though he probably will due to a weaker Eastern Conference. One thing Brown cannot due is show no growth or regress. During Brown’s tenure the Sixers record is 75-252. Philly fans are tired of losing, so there is no more time to develop.
The team is young, but if the team shows it has regressed former Suns general manager and current Sixers president of basketball operations Bryan Colangelo may want to relieve Brown. The city of Philadelphia wants to see progress from “The Process” and if Brown cannot produce, then he will be gone. Brown has pressure to win where as Watson does not and that is why Brown is on a hotter seat than Watson.
Chicago Bulls
Fred Hoiberg has been marred with disappoint since he took over for former Chicago Bulls head coach Tom Thibodeau. To be fair to Hoiberg, he did walk into a locker room of veterans after coaching college kids. Hoiberg’s record has been 83-81, which is not bad, but not what has been expected when he has had players like Jimmy Butler, Dwyane Wade, and Pau Gasol. He has struggled as a leader in general and now that the team is in full rebuild mode, the franchise may look for a coach that can control a locker room better.
Blame cannot be all on Hoiberg’s leadership skills, he has had to deal with strong veterans like Joakim Noah, Wade, Butler, and Rondo. On top of that, the team’s front office leadership has come into question as well.
Phoenix Suns coach Earl Watson may not be the best coach, but he does have decent locker room leadership and that is why his job is safer than Hoidberg’s.
Orlando Magic
Frank Vogel is a quality coach and it is a shame that he got stuck as the Orlando Magic’s head coach. Vogel brought up the young Indiana Pacers roster that challenged Lebron James’ Miami Heat a few years back. Vogel is a quality defensive coach with a poorly constructed roster. Vogel took the wrong job at the wrong time last year. If he did not just get a new boss in John Hammond, then he would be in better shape. However, that is not the case and Hammond may want his own selection at head coach when he is rebuilding the Magic.
Personally I hope that is not the case, I like Vogel and I think he can do good things with the Magic in a few years. Still there is a chance that once the season begins, Hammond and Vogel could start clashing which causes Vogel to be fired. Honestly, Vogel maybe the safest coach on this list besides of Watson. A new boss could become the cause of a premature exit for Vogel. Having a new boss is the reason why Vogel is on a hotter seat than Watson.
Next: Ranking every Phoenix Suns uniform ever
The coaches above are all at risk of losing their jobs for one reason or another. Fans will have to wait a little before finding out exactly who and when will be fired.