Los Angeles Lakers head coach Frank Vogel is grateful for the opportunity to be a head coach after struggling with the Orlando Magic.
The Los Angeles Lakers path to finding a new head coach this offseason was a tumultuous one. Their front office was in shambles and the search was not going according to plan.
With Rob Pelinka heading the search, the organization seemed to narrow their choices down to Monty Williams and Tyronn Lue. After Williams joined the Phoenix Suns, it looked as if Lue would become the next Lakers‘ head coach, but things fell apart.
Lue was not happy with the contract he was offered and the things the organization wanted. A three-year deal and Jason Kidd being on the staff were presented to Lue and he backed away from the job.
Los Angeles was left at the alter by Lue, but may have lucked into a solid hiring regardless. Replacing Luke Walton as the Lakers’ head coach will be Frank Vogel.
Vogel had an impressive run with the Indiana Pacers from the 2010-11 season through 2015-16, compiling a record of 250-181. They made the postseason five of those six seasons, going 31-30.
The two sides parted ways following the 2015-16 season but Vogel wasn’t without a job for long. He became the head coach of the Orlando Magic, but that was a disaster. Vogel went 54-110 in his two seasons with the Magic. He was relieved of his duty as head coach as the new front office wanted their own man.
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Struggling to that degree will usually make it difficult to land another job without working your way back up. Vogel was not sure how things would go after that.
"“I wasn’t coming off the type of success I had in Indiana,” Vogel said. “So I did feel around the league that the interest wasn’t quite as strong … I don’t know if I would say there’s any doubting of myself, but it does take its toll on you. We are human at the end of the day and when you’re not having success as a coach you like to feel like you could take any group and make them play hard, play together, share the basketball, work on a defensive end and win. You know what I mean? But the chips don’t always align that way, you’re not always going to have success."
One route to getting back on track is becoming an assistant coach. There are a number of head coaches that shifted down the bench to assistants and worked their way back up to the head coach’s seat.
That was looking like a possible route for Vogel. The Lakers were looking at Vogel as an assistant coach before he was ultimately offered the head coaching job.
With how things ended in Orland, Vogel is looking forward to the chance to coach with the Lakers and believes all of these experiences will help him grow.
"“But some of the best coaches in the world have had situations where the stars didn’t align and things didn’t come together, and you just have to keep that in perspective and draw a lot of confidence that your experiences and your successes can help you with your next opportunity. And that’s what I feel about this situation with the Lakers. I feel that each opportunity has been a learning experience for me and will help me grow and be a better coach here in L.A.”"
Vogel has a great opportunity ahead of him. The Lakers have a strong roster and should compete for a title this season.
While there will be immense pressure on Vogel and the team to win right away, this was a solid landing spot for someone who was unsure what the future held after the struggles he experienced in Orland.