MIAMI.- Erik Spoelstra quietly made history last week. For him it is no reason to celebrate.
Spoelstra is in his seventeenth season as coach of the Miami Heatwhich represents the third longest consecutive period for a coach with the same team in the history of the NBA. Gregg Popovich is in his 29th year with San Antonio and Jerry Sloan led Utah for 23 years.
But for most coaches today, the idea of such a long career may seem impossible.
Half of the league’s coaches — 15 of the 30 — are only entering their third season in their current position. In 2024, eight changes have been recorded and there are still two months left in the year.
“It’s a discouraging reality of this profession,” Spoelstra said. “It disheartens me when I hear that statistic because there are a lot of really talented coaches that if they had the same kind of structure and continuity and belief as (their teams) … there could be a lot more coaches capable of doing what I can do here.”
It’s no secret that the term “job security” doesn’t mean much in that position, especially today.
The NBA may be the gold standard when it comes to impatience with coaches. This past offseason there were some moves that, on paper, seemed crazy.
The Los Angeles Lakers hired former player JJ Redick, whose only experience was leading fourth graders earlier this year. Phoenix let NBA champion Frank Vogel go and replaced him with another champion, Mike Budenholzer. JB Bickerstaff became the first coach to lead a LeBron James-less Cleveland Cavaliers to the second round of the playoffs in more than 30 years and was also fired.
Bickerstaff ended up in Detroit. The Pistons had fired Monty Williams after just one season and with five years and $65 million remaining on his contract.
“You just keep doing the job you’re supposed to do,” Bickerstaff said.
I could have added “for as long as you have it,” because in the NBA, who knows what will happen next.
Popovich fired Bob Hill as Spurs coach after 18 games in the 1996-97 season and named himself coach. Tim Duncan arrived and changed the franchise’s fortunes a year later. But in this era of the NBA, Popovich’s 17-47 record upon completing that first season likely would have led to his firing.
However, patience paid off. Popovich has more wins than anyone in NBA history. And, counting moves involving interim coaches, Popovich will have survived 300 coaching changes in the league since taking the reins of the Spurs.
Shocking figure
There have been 183 different coaches in the league since Popovich started, not including him. Of those, 78 have coached multiple franchises in that span.
“You always strive to be the best you can be,” said Willie Green, entering his fourth season as New Orleans’ coach. “But you take these jobs understanding that they don’t have a long shelf life.”
Popovich will not be fired. Spoelstra is in the first year of an eight-year deal. Steve Kerr will decide when it will be his time to leave the Warriors. Joe Mazzulla sure has gained a lot of confidence after leading Boston to an NBA title. Mark Daigneault has done an incredible job rebuilding Oklahoma City.
There are other coaches who will surely have job security if things go wrong, but probably not many.
