Frank Vogel has been the coach of the Suns for one NBA regular season and three playoff games. And for the Suns, that may be long enough.
Per Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN, the Suns are considering firing Vogel after the playoffs. Phoenix, of course, trails its first-round series against the Timberwolves by a 3-0 count.
This maybe shouldn’t be a big surprise, given that Minnesota finished with the third seed in the Western Conference, and Phoenix finished sixth. The Suns also had plenty of injuries in there, too.
But even when healthy, the Big Three of Kevin Durant, Devin Booker and Bradley Beal has mostly bombed.
“[There’s] increasing belief around the league that Frank Vogel’s job is in peril if he loses,” Wojnarowski said on ESPN. “Especially as abruptly as they might in a sweep, as dispirited as they looked in Game 3. When you have this kind of payroll, these kinds of expectations, you’ve got to not only show more in the first round, you’ve got to get out of the first round.”
The Suns fired coach Monty Williams after last year’s second-round exit against the Nuggets. They haven’t been any better this year despite of it.
“Losing in six last year to Denver in the second round cost Monty Williams his job,” Wojnarowski said. “You see Mat Ishbia, the owner, he’s made rapid change in his short tenure as owner. Frank Vogel’s job very much may be in jeopardy now.”
Vogel, 50, was not a coach anywhere last season after being fired by the Lakers at the end of 2021-22. He also was considered a candidate for the Bucks and 76ers vacancies last summer.
He spent three years with the Lakers, coaching them during the 2020 championship season in the Disney Bubble.
He has also served as head coach of the Magic and Pacers, compiling a regular-season record of 48-422 in 12 NBA seasons overall.
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