New Orleans Pelicans: Pressure Building in Head Coach Search

Finding the next head coach for New Orleans Pelicans will now be a competition

After parting ways with head coach Alvin Gentry at this season’s end, the New Orleans Pelicans have been actively searching for the franchise’s next head coach. Unfortunately, New Orleans isn’t the only team looking for new a leader on the sidelines.

When the Pelicans officially fired Alvin Gentry, the search felt easy as they were only competing with the Brooklyn Nets for head coaching candidates. Then the Chicago Bulls fired their head coach Jim Boyelyn and yesterday the Philadelphia 76ers have fired head coach Brett Brown.

That now leaves four NBA destinations which head coaching vacancies all fighting for the same candidates. Where does this mean to the Pelicans? And how do they stack up to their three other competitors? Let’s get into it.

What other head coaching vacancies mean to the New Orleans Pelicans

As I just said, the New Orleans Pelicans will now be fighting with three other teams to find their next head coach, and that means the way they have been going about their search will be changing.

In this year’s end of the season press conference, Pelicans vice president David Griffin preached patience in searching for the organization’s next head coach, which was an excellent sentiment at the time.

At the time, Griffin and the front office were trying to show that their commitment to building a championship team by being thorough and finding the best candidate, now with three other teams in the mix there won’t be time for that.

The New Orleans Pelicans’ front office should be scheduling their coaching interviews now with the hope of getting out ahead of the other organizations. By doing this they can guarantee that they’ll get an interview candidate they’re interested in rather than potentially losing them to another team.

How does the New Orleans Pelicans compare to other openings?

Getting into the second question, there are two types of teams searching for head coaches right now. First, there are teams already considered to be contenders which are the Brooklyn Nets and Philadelphia 76ers.

Then there’s the Chicago Bulls and the New Orleans Pelicans who are looking to get some player development from their next head coach. Now all four of these teams could still be after the same candidates but some coaches are more likely to fit with one side than the other.

Overall, the New Orleans Pelicans should feel pretty good about where they stand compared to the other teams. Starting with their roster as currently constructed, the Pelicans arguably have the best out of all the openings in the league.

The Pelicans have three young superstars in Lonzo Ball, Brandon Ingram, and Zion Williamson along with veteran shooting guard Jrue Holiday. That’s before even mentioning young pieces like Josh Hart, Jaxson Hayes, and Nickeil Alexander-Walker.

Each of three other teams either has major holes or serious question marks when it comes to their roster going forward.

Then there’s the front office aspect. Outside of Brooklyn, New Orleans has the best front office for a head coach to work with. Chicago’s front office is brand new and Philadelphia has a front office that is getting ready to make some changes.

David Griffin already proved he can build a stable organization in Cleveland and has shown that he is committed to doing the same thing in New Orleans. When you then add in all the future assets the New Orleans Pelicans have at their disposal, they’re the top opening in the NBA.

The Verdict

With three other organizations also searching for a new head coach, the pressure is now on for the New Orleans Pelicans where it wasn’t before. They should move their process along quicker because of it but ultimately the team shouldn’t stress too much considering how strong of an option they would be for any head coach.