Orlando Magic: Turning a bad situation postive
The Orlando Magic faced potential disaster when Scott Skiles resigned suddenly. Instead they turned it positive and hired the best coach available.
It has been a few weeks since Scott Skiles decided to walk away from the Orlando Magic, leaving the team without a head coach and scrambling to make a suitable replacement — which turned out to be Frank Vogel.
The reasons for Skiles’ departure are still unclear and will most likely remain a matter of educated guesses.
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Looking at this situation when Skiles first stepped down, the situation could have been a lot worse. After just one year as head coach for the Magic, the speculation about his resignation grew and gave way to a negative spotlight.
It was said Skiles had been “unhappy” for at least a few months prior to his stepping down. This seems to be no secret. But to just leave in a sudden fashion was obviously a shock to the Magic.
This period of turmoil really could have derailed a team still trying to ascend. Hennigan needed to turn this potentially negative situation into a positive for the franchise. Not only for his sake, but for the team’s long-term future.
Having the obvious need to bring in a leader who can continue building on what Skiles had already done for the team, Hennigan moved swiftly to hire perhaps the top coach on the market in Frank Vogel. With an impressive background and strong defensive reputation, the Magic, all of a sudden, have reason to be very optimistic in having Vogel in as their leader after facing that potentially harmful reality.
Vogel’s defensive reputation is exactly what the Magic need right now. He is a coach who knows his defense and is not afraid to push his players to get the results he wants. He has a great reputation as a demanding coach, but also one who develops his players.
It was a home-run hire.
An experienced coach like Vogel can bring a few key things.
First, he brings a sense of togetherness. When you are coaching young players fresh out of college, it is even more important to bring a sense of a “we over me” attitude, and that is what Vogel can bring as head coach. He gets his players to buy in and commit to his principles.
“We’re going to go out and work our tails off, instill discipline and inspire our guys”, Vogel said in his introductory press conference. It was his conviction in those words that gave everyone the impression that he meant what he said.
Vogel has had a successful run with the Pacers where they were 250-181 and 31-30 in the playoffs with two trips to the Eastern Conference Finals. He led the Pacers to the playoffs in 2011 where he was an interim coach and kept them there except for the one year that forward Paul George missed from a leg injury.
The track record speaks for itself.
What is really important in having a veteran coach like Vogel on board is having the ability to see the season as a marathon and not as a sprint. Vogel seems like he will take a more long-term approach to his team.
One criticism of Skiles was he cared about every single game, almost too much. With that said, it is more important to see the overall bigger picture, let the losses become lessons and, instead of focusing too much on individual challenges, to focus on the entire season.
But what if Vogel had not been available, or had accepted an offer elsewhere?
Obviously Vogel was not the only strong candidate in the run for head coach, and the other coaches in line all had their own strengths. But if another coach had been hired, maybe there would not be so much optimism about the Magic’s future.
Either way, bringing in another coach might have even hurt the Magic more than helped as another coach might not have been able to bring in the same experience as Vogel.
Vogel’s hiring certainly helped win a public relations battle and bring optimism. To many it feels like the Magic created that opportunity and optimism out of potential disaster, turning a negative into an extreme positive.
It is no guarantee obviously of success.
What Skiles began, but the Magic still have to foster, is a strong defensive game. This is an opportunity to continue building the team’s identity — particularly on the defensive end, as Skiles tried to do.
What Skiles was trying to build with this young team will not only need to continue, but the base will need to be improved upon. It might make sense to bring in a head coach who is known to turn young talent into a strong cohesive unit to keep that momentum going.
What they can do is start by keeping a positive mindset and building a positive culture.
But a positive step in the right direction can begin with the right attitude and right voice.
There are still roster spots to fill, and it might be hard to judge how good this fit actually will be until the team is assembled. But Vogel is praised for getting results and that is exactly what this team needs.
This upcoming season might prove to be one of the most anticipated seasons the Magic have had yet for all the changes that have occurred and are expected to occur.
Next: Orlando Magic Daily Podcast: Offseason Mega-Preview
The Magic could have faced disaster with Skiles’ sudden departure. Instead they have created hope and optimism.