Forget what you may think about the wisdom of the Pacers moving on without Frank Vogel, but letting a good man go without offering him a chance to speak man to man, eye to eye, that shows a complet...

Larry Bird fired Jim O’Brien in person. Bird fired Rick Carlisle, who went on to win an NBA title in Dallas, in person. But Frank Vogel, the man who led and grew the Pacers after the failed O’Brien years, the winningest coach in the Pacers’ NBA history, he got a phone call. A couple of phone calls, the last one Thursday morning to tell him he would not be retained as the head coach of the Indiana Pacers.

Forget what you may think about the wisdom of moving on without Vogel – and believe me, I’ll get into that shortly – but letting a good man go without offering him a chance to speak man to man, eye to eye, that shows a complete lack of respect and common decency.

So why did Bird fail to retain Vogel, whose contract was expiring? We asked a number of questions at Bird’s press conference late Thursday morning, but we never truly walked away with an answer beyond this one: After a couple of years, players stop listening to a coach’s voice.

Unless the coach is Gregg Popovich, who has lasted 20 years in San Antonio.

"The last couple of days, I’ve had several conversations with Frank, and I’ve decided it’s time for a new voice around here," Bird said. "Sometimes my job really sucks. And this is one of the toughest things I’ve done because the respect I have for Frank. It’s just, I had time to think about it and watch the team throughout the year. I know a lot of you didn’t expect us to make the playoffs, but I had a lot higher expectations than most people on how our team should play and how they should compete every night. I just came to the conclusion that I felt it’s necessary for these guys to hear a new voice."

I asked Bird, who said he started to think about a change as far back as the All-Star break, if he believed Vogel had lost the locker room:

"I don’t know about losing the locker room," he said. "I wouldn’t go that far. But just the history of the game, my experience has been that good coaches leave after three years. I played for Bill Fitch (who coached the Celtics for four years). I talked to Red (Auerbach) on the subject a lot. We had K.C. Jones for five years, nicest man I’ve ever known, and they let him go and they were having success."

"If you look around the league, there are guys being dismissed and you wonder why. But if you’re there every day and you see things going on…I don’t think Frank ever lost the locker room but I think at times, players just don’t listen. You’ve got to keep them mentally focused. And if you have a new voice and a new strategy, you hold their attention longer."

Honey, I want a divorce. There isn’t another woman. I don’t love you any less. I’m just, you know, tired of hearing your voice.

Now, in Bird’s defense, he knows more than we know. He’s there every day. He speaks to players, to coaches, takes the daily temperature of the organization. It’s entirely possible, likely even, that he sensed a lack of response by the players who, in all honesty, ran hot and cold in terms of their effort all season.

That said, it’s hard to make the case the Pacers could have been a whole lot better when their starting center was Ian Mahinmi and their starter at power forward for large portions of the season was Lavoy Allen. Who wins more than 45 games and reaches the seventh game of the first round with a flawed group whose only marquee players are Paul George and a developing Myles Turner?

I don’t know why Bird did not meet face to face with Vogel, something Vogel wanted to do after they spoke Thursday morning and Vogel attempted to change Bird’s mind. Maybe it was too difficult for Bird, who got mildly emotional today when talking about his decision. Or maybe it was just a lousy way to do business, something a future candidate might take into account when deciding whether to join the Pacers.

At this point, it should be mentioned that Vogel leaves the Pacers as the coach with the second all-time highest winning percentage. Only behind Bird. Who walked off the stage after three years.

Numerous efforts were made to reach out to Vogel, but he did not respond Thursday. There are two entirely valid reasons for that: One, he doesn’t want to share his honest feelings about what went down and how it went down. Two, his phone is likely blowing up with other general managers expressing interest in his services.

"He (Vogel) was trying to talk me out of it (this decision)," Bird said. "Frank loves it here, his family loves it. He kept bringing it up about if we can sit down and delay the news conference and start all over again. He’s going to be missed. He’s good for our community."

There’s no question a number of candidates will be lining up to coach a Pacers franchise that should win 50 games or more next season, but the following would give me some pause: The team’s president is on record as saying that players tend to tune out coaches after three years. Do you really want to work for someone who operates with that philosophy? Who wants to be a short-timer, although, in this crazy league, it seems like everybody not named Popovich is a short timer?

Bird was asked about Kevin McHale, who, it seemed to me, was the obvious choice. "I would not do that to Kevin, have him work for me," he said. "That’s just not fair. I respect the man too much and we’ve been through too many battles together to bring him in here as my coach. I’d love to have him come in here and be my coach, but that ain’t going to happen because of our relationship."



Bird was asked about Mark Jackson, the former Pacer. Bird didn’t say much except to acknowledge he did a good job in Golden State. Effusive praise? Hardly.

I will throw some names out there. Brian Shaw, the former Pacers assistant. Nate McMillan, the current Pacers assistant who is a former NBA head coach with a strong record. David Blatt, the former Cavs coach, is out there. Mike D’Antoni, who would certainly improve the Pacers offense (but not their defense), is available. Jeff Hornacek, who turned the Suns around and then got fired shortly thereafter, is a possibility. There are more names, I’m quite sure, but I find it befuddling that Bird doesn’t specifically have someone in mind already to replace Vogel. Maybe, like Phil Jackson, he’ll spend a few weeks on some Zen retreat in Montana and then make up his mind. Who knows what Bird is thinking? Did anybody see the O’Brien hiring coming down the pike several years ago?

"I’ll take my time and go through a lot (of names), make sure we can get the guy that can lead them and push them and get the ears of the players," Bird said. "We’re excited about it."

All I know is, he needs to knock this one out of the park. And I say that because Vogel was a universally well-liked and well-respected coach in this town, both for his accomplishments on the floor and for what he did in the community.

For Bird, this will be his fifth head coach since taking over in 2003. Fired Isiah Thomas before he ever coached a game under Bird. Fired Carlisle after four years. Fired O’Brien after four years. Fired Vogel after 5 ½ years.

"I know this is not going to be a 100 percent popular move," Bird said. "But all I think about is what’s best for the franchise, and I think this is what’s best for the franchise."

This is a blasphemous question in a place where the state bird is Larry, but here it goes anyway: At some point, might we conclude the problem isn’t the coaches, but Bird himself?



Statement from Frank Vogel: