Larry Bird Comments on Frank Vogel, Pacers' Head Coach Search, More

Indiana Pacers president of basketball operations Larry Bird announced Thursday that head coach Frank Vogel will not return to the team next season. 

Vogel, whose contract expired after the Toronto Raptors bounced the Pacers out of the postseason in the first round, led Indiana to the playoffs in five of his six seasons. 

Yet Bird had high praise for Vogel, much to the bewilderment of ESPN's Rachel Nichols:

But he explained his decision, per the Pacers: "I’ve decided that it’s time for a new voice around here. … This is one of the toughest things I’ve done. Frank’s not getting fired. His contract is up, and I just made the decision not to renew it."

Bird added that he believes "good coaches leave after three years," which is half of Vogel's tenure. 

Now it is on to looking for a new head coach, and Bird thinks plenty of candidates will be interested, per Nichols:

However, he was quick to take former Boston Celtics teammate Kevin McHale out of consideration, per Andre Vergara of Fox Sports.

"I would not do that to Kevin—have him work for me," he said. "That's just not fair. I respect the man too much and we've been through too many battles together to bring him in here and be my coach. I would love for him to be my coach, but it ain't gonna happen."

Candace Buckner of the Indianapolis Star has heard that Mike D'Antoni, Mark Jackson, Brian Shaw, Randy Wittman and Mike Woodson are "surprising" possible candidates.

Coaches who are interested in the job could have Bird's comments in the back of their minds, as they might fear that longevity with the Pacers would be hard to come by even if they're successful.

Stats courtesy of Basketball-Reference.com.