New Los Angeles Lakers head coach, Frank Vogel, believes he is the right man for the job.
This offseason, the Los Angeles Lakers looked a mess to start off the summer. Shortly after Lakers fired Luke Walton, the search for a new head coach began.
After going through the interview process, it looked like the Lakers were poised to hire Tyronn Lue. Hiring Lue made a lot of sense for the Lakers, as he was arguably the best coach available with a championship ring. Also, he was the coach for LeBron James in Cleveland.
However, the Lakers didn’t seem like they wanted to invest in Lue long-term and the two sides didn’t get a deal done. With Lue out of the picture, the Lakers restarted the interview process and eventually landed on Frank Vogel.
Recently, Vogel spoke about the front office having confidence in him to get the job done. Here’s what he said via Chris Mannix of Sports Illustrated.
"“I really do,” Vogel said. “I’ve established a great relationship so far with Rob Pelinka, Kurt Rambis, Jeanie Buss, the entire front office. I think we’ve really hit the ground running. Obviously this is a performance industry that we’re in, especially in terms of coaching, but I feel like they’ve settled on the right guy. I feel like they’re happy with their choice for coach and the relationship in terms of us being aligned and working together to build this team up to this point, it couldn’t be stronger. I anticipate that that will be the case going into the season.”"
While Vogel might not have been the first choice of the Lakers, he was a solid pick for the position. In eight seasons as a head coach, Vogel has a record of 304-291.
Most of Vogel’s success came with the Indiana Pacers, as he was the head coach for one of the best teams in the Eastern Conference those years. In six seasons with the Pacers, Vogel had a record of 250-181. In the playoffs, Vogel has a record of 31-30, as the Pacers gave LeBron and the Miami Heat a run for their money a few years.
While Vogel might have the support of the front office now, he will have to win games in order to keep it. Walton also had the support of Jeanie Buss and the front office, but losing a dysfunction resulted in them parting ways.
With a very talented roster to utilize, Vogel will be hoping to have a lot of success. If the Lakers have success on the court, Vogel shouldn’t have to worry about his job status at all.