Pelicans Head Coach Search: Latest News, Rumors and Speculation on Vacant Job

The New Orleans Pelicans surprised many when they fired head coach Monty Williams on May 12 after a playoff berth, but on May 30, it was revealed Golden State Warriors assistant coach Alvin Gentry is the new head coach.

The vacancy was among the NBA's most desirable coaching job, with multiple coaches linked to the position, including Jeff Van Gundy and Kentucky head coach John Calipari, who was forced to deny the report on Twitter. 

Continue for updates.

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Gentry Named Pelicans Coach

Saturday, May 30

The Pelicans announced Gentry has been hired as the new head coach:

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The New Orleans Pelicans named Alvin Gentry the team’s head coach, it was announced today by Senior Vice President of Basketball Operations/General Manager Dell Demps. Per team policy, terms of the contract were not released.

Gentry becomes the sixth head coach in franchise history.

“We are excited to announce that Alvin Gentry is the new head coach of the New Orleans Pelicans. We warmly welcome Alvin and his family to the Pelicans organization,” said Demps. “After assessing our team, along with the core values of the Pelicans, we created a list of characteristics and qualities we wanted in our head coach. We conducted an extensive coaching search that identified Alvin Gentry as the right person to lead our team.”

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With a young, talented roster headlined by All-Star Anthony Davis, the Pelicans have the pieces needed to be a perennial playoff team moving forward. Tyreke Evans, Jrue Holiday, Eric Gordon, Omer Asik and Ryan Anderson form a strong nucleus for the Pelicans, but Davis is undoubtedly the biggest draw.

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Jeff Van Gundy Meets With Pelicans 

Friday, May 29

The Pelicans formally interviewed former NBA coach Jeff Van Gundy for the head coach position, according to Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo Sports. The two sides met in San Francisco, per Wojnarowski: 

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Van Gundy, one of the NBA’s top available coaches, and New Orleans officials met in the Bay Area to discuss the opening. The sides had spoken over the phone, but this was the first face-to-face meeting, league sources said.

For now, New Orleans officials and Van Gundy are beginning the process of getting to know each other. Van Gundy had traveled to the Bay Area for his role as a television analyst for the Western Conference finals.

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On May 22, Stein reported that Van Gundy is interested in the Pelicans job and is under consideration for the position.  

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