Pelicans Fire Monty Williams

After five seasons as the head coach of the New Orleans Pelicans, the organization has decided to part ways with head coach Monty Williams.  Williams, who led the team to 45 wins through this past season, as well as a spot in the postseason,  now finds himself without a coaching position.

A report was made by  Yahoo! Sports’ Adrian Wojnarowski that Pelicans ownership mandated that Williams, as well as general manager Dell Demps, must take the team to the playoffs this season if they wanted to keep their jobs.  After the Pelicans squeezed into the playoffs by defeating the San Antonio Spurs on the last day of the regular season, it was believed that Williams’ and Demps’ jobs were safe for the near future.

The Pelicans have made it clear that they appreciate the dedication that Williams applied to the Pelicans organization, with Demps saying that Williams was “a great role model” to the young players of the team. The team has also made it known that they have no intention of firing Demps.

In Williams first season as a head coach for the Pelicans, he lead the team to a 46-36 record, and from there, he would finish with a career record of 173-221.   There is no doubt that the Pelicans will be looking for coaching candidates in the upcoming weeks, but it was a shock to many fans across the nation that the Pelicans made the move.

As for who will replace Williams, there are  a few candidates. First and foremost are the coaches that do not currently have a job: Mike D’Antoni and Scott Brooks. Both coaches will most likely be reaching out to the Pelicans in the near future to talk jobs. Another candidate for the vacancy would be Bulls’ coach Tom Thibodeau. It is no question that the Bulls’ management and Thibodeau have problems and are most likely going to part ways after this season. The possibility of this departure happening will have the Pelicans reaching out to the Bulls coach.