5 NBA Coaches on the Hot Seat Before the 2011-12 Season Even Starts

There's a lot of controversy over how much a head coach matters in the NBA. When you consider that there are three head coaches who have accounted for 20 of the last 28 NBA titles, it's enough to give credence to the notion that coaching does, in fact, matter.

Here are five NBA coaches who need to prove themselves this year to keep their jobs.

Vinny Del Negro, Los Angeles Clippers

Vinny Del Negro is entering his second year as the head coach of the Los Angeles Clippers. Last year the team underperformed considering its level of talent. However, it's excusable to a point because the Clippers are young, but only to a point.

That point is this year. The Clippers have added Caron Butler and Chauncey Billups, two veteran players, and the Clippers will be expected to contend for a playoff spot this year. Another losing season for the Clippers will see Del Negro losing his job.

Larry Drew, Atlanta Hawks

Larry Drew, coach of the Atlanta Hawks, will also be entering his second year as head coach. He's in for a tough job, and he might lose his even though it's not his fault.

The Hawks are likely to take a step backwards this year, and there's not much he can do about it. The problem is partly due to the fact that the Hawks are likely to lose their sixth man, Jamal Crawford. It's also due to the fact that the East is going to get a lot tougher.

New York and New Jersey both promise to be a lot better, and even Indiana could be better this year. Atlanta could drop to the seventh-best team in the East, and when teams fare worse, not better, fans tend to put the blame on the coach.

Drew is just in a bad situation, and his job might be gone no matter what he does.

Stan Van Gundy, Orlando Magic

Stan Van Gundy is in a precarious position. He has a team built around a philosophy of a single player, Dwight Howard. That philosophy is to surround Howard with a bevy of three-point shooters to spread the court and give him a chance to score inside.

Without an inside threat, that theory goes to H. E. Double-toothpick in a hand basket—and that's nothing compared to what that defense starts to look like. Howard's been a one-man defense for the last couple of years now.

Orlando could still put a decent team on the court, but it won't be able to fit into Van Gundy's philosophy.

Mike D'Antoni, New York Knicks

Mike D'Antoni is coaching a team that is going to be expected to challenge in the Eastern Conference. He has a problem though. While he has a team that includes two gifted offensive players in Amar'e Stoudemire and Carmelo Anthony, it is also a team that is missing the key component to running his system: a great passer.

While it's possible that Baron Davis will be amnestied and could come in to save the day, so to speak, the current duo of Mike Bibby and Toney Douglas is not likely to be sufficient to navigate the Knicks to the type of season they are expecting.

Erik Spoelstra, Miami Heat

Erik Spoelstra has one more year to win it all, and then he's gone, fairly or not. The bottom line is that the Miami Heat with their big three got a one-time pass to not win it all because it was their first year together.

It won't happen this time. If the Heat don't win this time—or falter in-season—the man who owns five of those previously mentioned 20 championships, Pat Riley, is likely to step in and take over.