Jim O'Brien Fired By Indiana Pacers

Per this report by Yahoo Sports Adrian Wojnarowski, the Indiana Pacers have fired their head coach Jim O'Brien this morning. Here is some info on the firing, according to Wojnarowski:

O’Brien’s firing comes after the Pacers lost seven of their past eight games to drop to 10th place in the Eastern Conference. After a strong start to the season, the Pacers have faded in recent weeks and O’Brien’s abrasive and erratic coaching style became a greater issue within the organization. The front office wasn’t happy with how O’Brien had publicly chastised promising young center Roy Hibbert(notes), despite the player’s earnest efforts to improve.

Assistant coach Frank Vogel will coach the Pacers for the remainder of the season. Reports are also saying that Indiana will target ex Cavs head coach Mike Brown, who has a history with the Pacers as an assistant under Rick Carlisle.

Maybe a change in philosophy will be good for the Pacers who have a bevy of young talent on their roster, including Danny Granger, Roy Hibbert and Darren Collison. I think if the Pacers decide to take on a more uptempo approach to offense they can be a competitive group. They definitely have the pieces to make it work.

Jim O'Brien was brought in prior to the 2007-08 season and had a 121-169 record as the Pacers head coach. O'Brien's previous coaching stops include coach the Celtics and the Philadelphia 76ers before taking over the Pacers.

-ALR

Univ. Of Michigan Fires Head Coach Rich Rodriguez

Per this report from Fox 2 in Detroit, Michigan has parted ways with Rich Rodriguez today as their head football coach. This should not come as much of a surprise as Rodriguez led the Wolverines to a disappointing 15-22 record during his seasons at the helm. Michigan is also coming off of a 52-14 bowl game loss to Miss. St., which is the worst in school history. Here some of Fox's story:

Rodriguez was 15-22 during three seasons in Ann Arbor. He lost a school-record nine games in his debut with the Wolverines two years ago, was 5-7 after starting 4-0 last season and turned a 5-0 start into a 7-5 finish this fall.

The Wolverines were also 1-10 against ranked teams and were 0-3 against rivals Michigan State, Ohio State and Wisconsin during Rodriguez's tenure.

Clearly with a record like that Rodriguez didn't the school much of a choice. He was also abrasive with the media and never seemed quite comfortable at such a high profile position after coming off a successful stint with West Virginia. There has been buzz on the rumor front that Michigan is interested in current Stanford HC Jim Harbaugh who's name has been the hottest in relation to open coaching positions in both college and the pros.

Rodriguez might be best served to find another HC position at a smaller school where he won't be as scrutinized and will have the opportunity to build his program, as he did at WV. I'm sure he will walk away from the Wolverines with a nice settlement as he only in his third year of a 6-yr, $15mil contract that was signed back in '07.

Best of luck to both coach Rodriguez & Michigan in their search for a new leader.

-ALR