Indiana Pacers: Is Frank Vogel’s Job Safe?

By Evan Massey | Sep 28, 2014

Mar 19, 2014; New York, NY, USA; Indiana Pacers head coach Frank Vogel looks on during the first quarter of a game against the New York Knicks at Madison Square Garden. Mandatory Credit: Brad Penner-USA TODAY Sports /

The Indiana Pacers have quite a few question marks heading into the 2014-15 NBA season, and one of those questions is about their head coach, Frank Vogel. He has drawn quite a bit of heat for his lack of locker room management during the major collapse that the Pacers had at the end of last season. Indiana showed major confidence in Vogel despite the collapse, and are giving him at least one more season to improve his deficiencies.

Now the question becomes, is Vogel’s job safe no matter what happens this season without both Lance Stephenson and Paul George?

More from Indiana Pacers

It’s going to be a very difficult season for the Pacers after losing their two best players from last year, but they still have enough talent to be a playoff team. Vogel is going to have to have his best season as a coach in order to figure out the combinations necessary to beat the better teams in the league. The Pacers still have plenty of options to help pick up the scoring load that George and Stephenson leave, but defensively they won’t be able to replace George.

One of Vogel’s biggest issues over the past couple of seasons has been his unwillingness to change rotations if things aren’t working. Towards the end of last season he simply wasn’t getting enough from Luis Scola, but was unwilling to change the rotation to give Scola some time off and allow another player to have a chance. That will have to change this year, as the Pacers can’t afford to sit around waiting for a player to play up to their full potential.

Another area that Vogel will have to improve in is on the offensive end of the court. His offensive system didn’t work at all last season, but he had both Stephenson and George to help bail him out. This season he won’t have that comfort, and will be forced to come up with new creative ideas in order to score the necessary points to compete against the better teams across the league.

So is Vogel safe throughout the entire season? Quite simply, this is going to be the year that the Pacers can find out exactly what type of coach Vogel really is and whether or not he can succeed without having superior talent. If he is unable to make the playoffs, then the Pacers will be forced to consider the option of finding another head coach.

Obviously the Pacers would rather have Vogel learn from last seasons mistakes and take the next step towards becoming one of the premier coaches in the NBA. There is absolutely no question that he has the potential to make the changes that he needs to from last season, but the question is whether or not he will be willing to lose his stubbornness. Larry Bird did his best to mentor Vogel last season, but that didn’t seem to help the issue either.

Indiana desperately needs their head coach to come through this season and show the full potential that he has had since he took over for Jim O’Brien a few years back. The Pacers still believe that Vogel can be their long-term head coach, but the improvement simply hasn’t been there yet. Perhaps this will be the season that he breaks through and begins correcting the few issues that he has left.

Don’t expect to see this be Vogel’s last season as the head coach of the Pacers. He may receive a lot of heat and be put on the hot seat, but the Pacers are going to give him some time especially with the injury to their star player. This is going to be a very big season for Vogel to prove himself, but it likely won’t be his last season in Indiana.

Home/Indiana Pacers