Pelicans Will Have a Ton of Competition for Top Head Coaches per Latest Report

The New Orleans Pelicans have a big coaching decision to make after the season. They are finishing out the season with James Borrego at the helm, but they have refused to remove the interim tag from him despite Borrego being in charge since mid-November. Joe Dumars & Co. are reportedly keeping their options open and will conduct a head coaching search. The two names that have emerged besides Borrego are Bucks assistant Darvin Ham and Magic head coach Jamahl Mosley.

It turns out, however, that the Pelicans will have a ton of competition on the market for the head coach candidates. NBA insider Jake Fischer of the Stein Line reported that eight to 12 changes are expected among the head coaches in the NBA.

This suggests that it will be one of the most active coaching carousels of recent memory. There are a few reasons for this.

Pelicans Will Face Competition in Their Head Coaching Search

First, there were only two new head coaches, Mike Brown of the Knicks and Jordan Ott of the Phoenix Suns, hired last season. And there were no in-season firings besides Willie Green. A bigger factor is that there were a lot of teams that played well below expectations, including but not limited to the Bucks, Kings, Bulls, Magic, and the Mavericks. Fischer mentions the Wizards and the Blazers are other teams worth keeping an eye on in the coaching market.

This is a problem for the Pelicans, as this could seriously inhibit their ability to recruit top head coaches. Mosley "still has many fans around the league after Orlando posted a top-three defense in both 2023-24 and 2024-25," per Fischer. Ham is also among the "highly regarded assistant coaches" around the league who are expected to land interviews in this cycle.

Will the Pelicans be a top option for either of these coaches? With a non-playoff roster that is not going to get an elite prospect coming in, a cheap ownership, and an incompetent front office, the Pelicans simply have too many problems as an organization. If there are multiple teams interested in their services, would any high-level head coach choose to come to New Orleans? It's not like the Pelicans will pay more for their head coach than any of the aforementioned organizations.

Plus, it's not even clear that Ham, Mosley, or another name will be an upgrade over Borrego. The issue with the Pelicans this season was not coaching. Can anyone really argue that any other coach could have produced a meaningfully different result than Borrego this season?

If the Pelicans go for a first-time head coach with untapped potential to replace Borrego, there could be an opportunity for improvement next season. But that doesn't seem to be the type of coaches Dumars is interested in going after. If the plan is to pursue proven names like Ham or Mosley, the Pelicans may not be the preferred landing spot for these coaches. Then, New Orleans may have no choice but to hire Borrego.