Orlando Magic fans have increasingly voiced displeasure with coach Jacque Vaughn, but a change is not likely until the end of the season, if at all.
Sunday’s loss to the Philadelphia 76ers and Tuesday’s near 27-point collapse to the Boston Celtics has changed some things among Magic fans. Maybe they did not change things for many fans already pointing the fingers at Magic coach Jacque Vaughn. There was a certain restlessness at Amway Center the last two games as the Magic played frustratingly inconsistent and nearly dropped both games after holding a double-digit deficit.
Vaughn did not have a ton of currency after two difficult seasons. He, as much as his players, has had to grow into the role the franchise wants for him as the team’s head coach.
Impatience sets in though with each questioning setback and any steps back in development and growth. Or, at least, every time fans ponder a rotation decision or inbounds play.
In all likelihood Jacque Vaughn is not on the hot seat. The Magic are still taking a long-term look at things and want to see the team make general improvements, competing later into the season. The Playoffs might very well be a bonus. Vaughn’s job remains to guide and nurture his team and help them improve individually. The Magic need to start parsing out who is worth keeping and who is going to be moving along.
Would back-to-back devastating losses changed things immediately for Vaughn? Not likely, Steve Kyler of Basketball Insiders reported Monday:
"Is Vaughn in trouble? Maybe. But unless the floor completely falls out from under him, it’s unlikely that things get better by forcing Vaughn out. There may come a point in the season where that’s necessary, but even a loss to the Sixers on the Magic’s home floor doesn’t mean it is today.It might make someone feel good to see a coaching change; it simply may not make the team better in the short term as a result."
The Magic are still in rebuilding mode. There is no immediacy to change things unless the losses pile up at an exorbitant rate or players really look like they are not getting better. Even then, there might not be much the Magic can do but ride it out until the summer and use that as the opportunity to correct things.
The other question would be who do the Magic go after for a head coach should Vaughn go?
Kyler suggests the Magic would first turn to lead assistant James Borrego if the Magic fire Vaughn midseason. Borrego has been an assistant with the Spurs and Hornets and coached the Magic’s Summer League team in 2013. He would be a good placeholder, but it is not clear if the team would stick with him for the main job.
This, of course, is all speculation. The Magic are not about to go shopping for a new head coach while the current one is in place. But barring a great run of play during a new coach’s tenure, it is not likely the Magic would hire someone already on staff.
These are all questions that are likely better left for the summer. The Magic are not really in the position to make changes right now. The evaluation is going to take a full season to determine whether the team is still on track.
Vaughn’s job should be relatively safe until then.