Pelicans assistant Chris Finch the frontrunner for Pacers job?

Pelicans assistant Chris Finch is considered the frontrunner for the Pacers coaching job, Kevin O’Connor of The Ringer tweets.

This is the first indication which way Indiana’s front office is leaning as it searches for Nate McMillan’s replacement. We’ve heard about about a number of candidates, including former head coaches Mike D’Antoni, Mike Brown, and Dave Joerger as well as top assistants around the league, including Darvin Ham, Ime Udoka, and David Vanterpool. ESPN analyst and 2004 Finals MVP Chauncey Billups also reportedly received an interview.

Joerger had been considered a strong contender for the job.

Toss in a couple of more names to the list. Heat assistants Chris Quinn and Dan Craig are next in line for interviews, per O’Connor.

Finch has also been mentioned as a candidate for the Rockets’ head coaching job. After the Pelicans parted ways with Alvin Gentry following the seeding games in Orlando, VP of basketball operations David Griffin spoke highly of Finch and indicated that he wanted to retain Finch, while acknowledging the assistant would draw interest from other teams as a head coaching prospect.