List of NBA Head Coaching Vacancies, Candidates

At any given time there are NBA head coaches at risk of getting fired with no shortage of intriguing candidates to fill those vacancies. Justified or not, few careers come with less job security than being the head coach of a professional sports team.

That doesn’t mean that there aren’t still coaches who’ve racked up lengthy tenures at the helm of a single organization. Below we’ve tracked each team’s coaching gig, marking the year that each coach took the reins.

For the purposes of our head coaching list, we’ve excluded interim coaches that were in their position for less than a season, this includes coaches like Mike Miller and Jacque Vaughn, who took over for the Knicks and Nets respectively in 2019-20 but were never locked in for anything beyond that.

List of NBA Head Coaches

TeamLast CoachCurrent Coach
ATLMike Budenholzer (2013)Lloyd Pierce (2018)
BOSDoc Rivers (2004)Brad Stevens (2013)
BROKenny Atkinson (2016)Steve Nash (2020)
CHASteve Clifford (2014)James Borrego (2018)
CHIJim Boylen (2018)Billy Donovan (2020)
CLEJohn Beilein (2019)J.B. Bickerstaff (2020)
DALAvery Johnson (2005)Rick Carlisle (2008)
DENBrian Shaw (2013)Michael Malone (2015)
DETStan Van Gundy (2014)Dwane Casey (2018)
GSWMark Jackson (2011)Steve Kerr (2014)
HOUMike D’Antoni (2016)Stephen Silas (2020)
INDNate McMillan (2016)Nate Bjorkgren (2020)
LACDoc Rivers (2013)Ty Lue (2020)
LALLuke Walton (2016)Frank Vogel (2019)
MEMJ.B. Bickerstaff (2017)Taylor Jenkins (2019)
MIAPat Riley (2005)Erik Spoelstra (2008)
MILJason Kidd (2014)Mike Budenholzer (2018)
MINTim Thibodeau (2016)Ryan Saunders (2019)
NOPAlvin Gentry (2015)Stan Van Gundy (2020)
NYKDavid Fizdale (2018)Tom Thibodeau (2020)
OKCBilly Donovan (2015)Mark Daigneault (2020)
ORLFrank Vogel (2016)Steve Clifford (2018)
PHIBrett Brown (2013)Doc Rivers (2020)
PHOIgor Kokoskov (2018)Monty Williams (2019)
PORNate McMillan (2005)Terry Stotts (2012)
SACDave Joerger (2016)Luke Walton (2019)
SASBob Hill (1996)Gregg Popovich (2016)
TORDwane Casey (2011)Nick Nurse (2018)
UTATyrone Corbin (2011)Quin Snyder (2014)
WASRandy Wittman (2016)Scott Brooks (2016)

Head Coaching Vacancies

  • Knicks (filled by Tom Thibodeau) – The Knicks promoted Mike Miller from within to coach the team on an interim basis after the firing of David Fizdale early in the 2019-20 campaign but did not commit to bringing him back.
  • Nets (filled by Steve Nash) – While the team has temporarily employed Jacque Vaughn on an interim basis, they’ve been looking for an official head coach since Kenny Atkinson was fired in the middle of the 2019-20 season.
  • Bulls (filled by Billy Donovan) – At the conclusion of the 2019-20 regular season, the Bulls parted ways with Jim Boylen.
  • Pelicans (filled by Stan Van Gundy) – At the conclusion of the 2019-20 regular season, the Pels dismissed Alvin Gentry.
  • Sixers (filled by Doc Rivers) – At the conclusion of their first-round series loss, the Sixers fired Brett Brown.
  • Pacers (filled by Nate Bjorkgren) – At the conclusion of their first-round series loss, the Pacers dismissed Nate McMillan.
  • Thunder (filled by Mark Daigneault) – At the conclusion of their first-round series loss, the Thunder parted ways with Billy Donovan.
  • Rockets (filled by Stephen Silas) – At the conclusion of their second-round series loss, the Rockets revealed that Mike D’Antoni would not be extended.
  • Clippers (filled by Ty Lue) – At the conclusion of their second-round series loss, the Clippers moved on from Doc Rivers.

Notable NBA Coaching Free Agents

CoachLinked To
Jason KiddN/A
Kenny AtkinsonN/A
Ime UdokaN/A
Jacque VaughnN/A
John LucasN/A
Mike D’AntoniN/A
Jeff Van GundyN/A
Sam CassellN/A
Dave JoergerN/A
Becky HammonN/A
Mike MillerN/A
Mike BrownN/A
Mike WoodsonN/A
Pat DelaneyN/A
Chris FlemingN/A
Will HardyN/A
Jamahl MosleyN/A
Darvin HamN/A
Wes Unseld Jr.N/A
Adrian GriffinN/A
David VanterpoolN/A
Dan CraigN/A
Chris QuinnN/A
Charles LeeN/A
Nate TibbettsN/A

Did I miss a candidate reportedly linked to a job opening? Find me on Twitter @AustinKent