Frank Vogel Will Not Return as Indiana Pacers Head Coach

The Indiana Pacers' offseason is underway early, and the first order of business was to part ways with head coach Frank Vogel.

Pacers president Larry Bird made the move official on Thursday, via Chris Mannix of The Vertical. Bird told reporters that he "decided it's time for a new voice around here."

The Pacers are fresh off an 89-84 Game 7 loss to the Toronto Raptors on May 1, which ended their season. Under Vogel, Indiana finished as the No. 7 seed in the Eastern Conference this season and made the playoffs for the fifth time since 2011.

Fresh off Indiana's second straight trip to the Eastern Conference Finals, Vogel signed a multiyear contract extension before the start of the 2014-15 season, which was set to expire this year, according to Wojnarowski.

After taking over for former head coach Jim O'Brien in January 2011, Vogel went 20-18 to close the year and led the Pacers to their first playoff berth since 2006.

He's 250-181 in five-and-a-half years in Indiana and coached the Eastern Conference All-Stars in 2014.

Vogel's resume should intrigue many teams around the NBA, and the Pacers' decision not to bring him back could be a major step backward. The only time he failed to lead Indiana to the playoffs was in 2014-15, when the Pacers played the majority of the campaign without Paul George after he suffered a broken leg in the offseason.

The Pacers had a roster makeover in the offseason after trading Roy Hibbert to the Los Angeles Lakers and letting David West leave for the San Antonio Spurs. Indiana has a lot to look forward to with George and rookie forward Myles Turner, and with another year of development under the same system, the Pacers should be in position to compete for another playoff berth next season.