Orlando Magic Rumors: Tom Thibodeau not interested, Scott Skiles contract could be done Friday
The Orlando Magic appear set to name Scott Skiles as their head coach by the end of the day Friday as Tom Thibodeau is reportedly uninterested in the job.
The shoe finally dropped with the firing of Tom Thibodeau from the Chicago Bulls on Thursday. For many, this was the domino that needed to fall in order for the Orlando Magic’s coaching search to get started. This was the golden goose every team with a coaching vacancy wanted.
It appears though, Thibodeau’s interest in those jobs is non-existent.
Peter Vecsey reports Thibodeau is not interested in the Magic, Nuggets or even the Pelicans head coaching vacancy, seemingly set to sit the year out and wait for another opportunity to get back into the coaching carousel.
Tom Thibodeau has no interest, I'm told, in coaching Pelicans (feels Davis will leave when pact permits), Magic (Skiles on tap) or Nuggets.
— Peter Vecsey (@PeterVecsey1) May 29, 2015
Vecsey does have a mixed track record, but the writing has been on the wall it seems for a while now that the Magic have focused in on former Magic point guard Scott Skiles for some time. Vecsey had previously reported the Magic were set to hire Skiles by the end of the week and Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports reported the Magic were prepared to enter contract negotiations earlier this week.
Perhaps it only took a day to contact Thibodeau’s representatives and gauge his interest before moving forward.
Marc Stein of ESPN.com reports the Magic have indeed entered negotiations with Skiles and could very well have a contract finished Friday.
Hearing that the Magic, if they have their way, will have a deal with Scott Skiles to be their new head coach by day's end
— Marc Stein (@TheSteinLine) May 29, 2015
While the process may have been very focused on only a few candidates, the options for the Magic and what they were looking for was pretty slim. If Thibodeau and former Thunder head coach Scott Brooks truly were not interested, the list of coaches with NBA experience and success (to whatever degree) was small.
Skiles has had success in the NBA. In all three of his previous stops, he has guided his teams to the Playoffs. In seven of his 13 seasons as a coach, he has coached in the Playoffs. With where the Magic are at in their rebuild, they appear ready to turn the corner and demand wins now rather than rebuild and wait for an inexperienced coach to grow up with the team.
Orlando wanted stability and the team wanted a player who could instill an identity.
All of Skiles’ teams have had that. They are tough-minded, defensive teams who take on the hard-driving personality of their coach.
Of course, each of Skiles’ three tenures ended in frustration as he could never take his team to the next level above respectability. He has been out of the first round just twice and his tenures typically end with players frustrated with his hard-driving, demanding methods.
For where the Magic are at though, respectability sounds fine. The team needs to start winning after spending three straight seasons with fewer than 30 wins and no more than 25 wins. Orlando’s urgency to turn the corner kicked up a notch.
By all accounts then, Skiles will be the Magic’s head coach in the very near future.