Frank Vogel: From Interim Coach to Head Coach of the Indiana Pacers

On January 30 of last season the Indiana Pacers surprisingly fired Jim O’Brien after three-and-a-half mostly disappointing seasons. The surprise wasn't really the fact that O’Brien was fired, but when he was fired.

A week before O'Brien was given his pink slip, Pacers President Larry Bird declared that the head coaching position would be evaluated at season’s end. So that created a mini-controversy involving hometown hero Larry Legend and O'Brien, who wasn't very well-liked in Indiana.

More importantly, however, the firing also seemed to signal the end of any playoff hopes this young Pacers squad had coming into last season. Lost in all this was the fact that 38-year-old Frank Vogel, a relative unknown at the time, was named interim head coach for the remainder of the season.

As a fan, when you see the title "interim head coach," the first thing you start to think of are the potential coaches who might be in line to run your favorite team after the interim coach is mercifully discarded. This was originally the thought for many Pacers fans, and Mike Brown was rumored to be a potential candidate for the head job. Instead, what played out in the Hoosier state is every interim coach's dream.

Right off the bat, Vogel implemented changes that paid immediate dividends for the young, talented Pacers. Foremost among these changes, Vogel shifted the Pacers' offensive focus from a a perimeter-oriented system to one that he titled “smash mouth basketball," an approach which emphasized attacking the rim and taking advantage of the size the Pacers had.

Vogel also introduced Indiana to something called a consistent rotation (something Mike Brown definitely would not have provided) and inserted Paul George and Tyler Hansbrough into the starting lineup while getting 7’2'' center Roy Hibbert to start playing with the confidence O’Brien had stolen from him after a promising start to the season.

The Pacers were revitalized by Vogel's changes and finished out the regular season with a 20-18 record, which allowed them to sneak their way into the playoffs for the first time since 2006 as the eighth seed in the Eastern Conference.

Their season was eventually ended with a first-round exit to the top-seeded Bulls in five games, but those who watched the series know that the Pacers had chances to win each of the first three games. Regardless, Vogel obviously made the most of his opportunity as President Bird ultimately removed the interim tag and awarded him with a guaranteed two-year deal that would allow Vogel to build off his successful start.

With a starting lineup whose oldest player is 28-year-old Danny Granger, plenty of cap space, the draft-day trade for hometown hero George Hill from the San Antonio Spurs and the addition of Brian Shaw to his staff, Vogel seems to have all the tools necessary for him to become a permanent fixture on the Pacers' sideline. It seems that the Pacers might have finally found the guy who can make the Hoosier state crazy about their professional basketball team again.