Indiana Pacers Coach Jim O'Brien Fired: Where It All Went Wrong

When you typed in Jim O’Brien about two days ago, you may have encountered two types of results: one stating that O’Brien was the current head coach of the Indiana Pacers and another talking about the Ohio State Coach O’Brien that was subsequently dismissed from his position. Well, only one of those facts still remains true as you read on. Jim O’Brien was officially released yesterday after a 121-169 run with the organization.

This is not an astonishing revelation because as we all witnessed in the beginning of the season, the Pacers had a real shot at the playoffs, not winning of course. There is a huge difference in the margin of talent between this team and the dominators of the league. But, there was a glimpse of hope that they could have a chance to return to their Jermaine O’Neal glory days soon. With wins against Miami, Los Angeles Lakers and Denver who would not see promise?

The criticism for his less-than-stable rotations may have been a huge issue for the franchise to overcome. There is a saying, “If it’s not broken, don’t fix it.” But maybe O’Brien was not too privy to that belief and tried to critique in every way he could. Is it because he thought he could pull more out of the team? Is it because he just wanted to use this season to test the waters? Unfortunately for him, this is the day and age of immediate gratification. There is no longer a waiting period for a coach to sit back and just figure things out.

With the league constantly shifting and teams competing at the level of NBA Finals game play every night, a coach needs to have his team trust that he knows what’s best and can get the job done. O’Brien just could not cut it, so Larry Bird cut him. Assistant coach Frank Vogel will serve as head coach for the remainder of the season.