Isiah Thomas Removed as Basketball Coach at Florida International

Former Detroit Pistons great Isiah Thomas has been removed as the head coach of the Florida International Golden Panthers, according to Gary Parrish of CBSSports.com.

Parrish first reported the news via Twitter:

"

Isiah Thomas has been removed as coach at FIU, a source told CBSSports.com. Story coming.

— Gary Parrish (@GaryParrishCBS) April 6, 2012"

In a full report, Parrish noted that the school confirmed Thomas' removal in a news release.

"We want to thank Isiah Thomas for his three years here at FIU," said Florida International Executive Director of Sports and Entertainment Pete Garcia. "However, we have decided to take the program in a different direction."

Thomas, of course, famously tried his hand at coaching and running the New York Knicks between 2003 and 2008. He was hired as the team's President of Basketball Operations in December of 2003, and was ultimately replaced in that capacity by Donnie Walsh in 2008.

Thomas coached the Knicks in the 2006-2007 and 2007-2008 seasons, winning a grand total of 55 games. Whether as an executive or as a coach, the Knicks routinely  underachieved during his tenure.

Thomas was hired at FIU in April of 2009, with the hope being that his coming would break up a string of five straight losing seasons. The Golden Panthers went 7-25 in Thomas' first season at the helm, and then won just 19 games over the next two seasons.

All told, Thomas compiled a record of 26-65 at FIU, going 14-36 in Sun Belt play.

At this point, it's fair to say that Thomas will probably never be as good at running basketball teams as he was at playing on them. He won an NCAA championship with Indiana before he got to the NBA, and then led the Pistons to two championships in 1989 and 1990.

Thomas was elected to the Basketball Hall of Fame in 2000.