Indiana Pacers fire head coach Frank Vogel
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The Indiana Pacers will not retain head coach Frank Vogel, team president Larry Bird announced Thursday.
“I want to thank Frank for his time in Indiana,” Bird said. “We know he’ll be successful down the road and end up getting a job, but for us, I just feel it’s time to move in a different direction.”
Bird said he spoke with Vogel on the phone for about 30 minutes this morning, and that Vogel repeatedly requested he reconsider his decision, according to Rachel Nichols of ESPN.
Vogel was officially named the Pacers’ head coach in July 2011 after serving as interim head coach following the firing of Jim O‘Brien. Over the course of his time with the Pacers, Vogel recorded a record of 250–181.
• MORE NBA:Offensively-minded Pacers make risky move to let Vogel go
“I would like to express my sincerest thanks to the Simon family, Larry Bird and the entire Indiana Pacers organization for giving me the opportunity to serve as the head coach of this team for the past six seasons,” Vogel said in a statement. “This is one of the top-flight organizations in the National Basketball Association and I truly enjoyed every minute I spent as the leader of this group of men.”
The Pacers’ 2015–16 season came to an end after they fell to the Toronto Raptors in the first round of the NBA Playoffs on Sunday.
Indiana finished the regular season at seventh place in the Eastern Conference with a 44–37 record.
