Vogel, who worked his way up the ranks from being a video coordinator with the Boston Celtics, took over as interim coach of the Pacers in January 2011 when Jim O’Brien was sacked.
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When Pitino went to coach the Boston Celtics in 1997, he gave Vogel his National Basketball Association break as a video coordinator.
The Pacers parted ways with Vogel on Thursday.
Vogel began coaching the Pacers in 2010, taking over for Jim O’Brien with 38 games left in the season.
“I’d like to score more points and hopefully we can do that”, Bird said. Vogel led the team to the playoffs four of the next five years, twice advancing to the Eastern Conference finals. Bird said Vogel tried to talk him into changing his mind and working out a deal where he (Vogel) could keep his job with the Pacers. Now, it appears the New York Knicks are interested in hiring the former Pacers’ head coach.
“[Vogel] didn’t lose the locker room, I think at times players just don’t listen”, Bird said. The Pacers made the playoffs and lost their first-round series after pushing favored Toronto to seven games.
Bird suggested the Pacers would move aggressively in the free agency window.
Vogel was 250-181 in five and a half seasons with the Pacers. He instantly has to become a top candidate for the job, especially considering some of the other names the Kings are bringing in.
According to a report from Marc Berman of the New York Post, the Knicks have reached out to Vogel to gauge his interest in coaching the Knicks. Former Houston coach Kevin McHale, Bird’s former teammate on the great Celtics teams of the 1980s, will not be in the mix. He said he respected Kevin too much to hire him to work for him. “So I don’t know why they would call a press conference to say we are going to retain a coach”.
On New York’s end, it appears as if interim head coach Kurt Rambis could ultimately be worked into a full-time position, given Jackson’s bias toward the triangle offense and in turn creating some sort of longevity between both Rambis and the scheme.
– Bird indicated that part of the voice losing impact is in motivating players to play at a higher level and holding them accountable.
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Bird expects plenty of interest in the job, with All-Star Paul George and Myles Turner, who just finished a promising rookie campaign on the roster already.
