Vinny Del Negro coached the Clippers to a franchise-best 56 regular season wins, yet he is a man without a contract for next season.

It’s been widely assumed that the team would go in another direction after L.A. was bounced from the playoffs in the first round, especially after getting out to a two games to none lead over the Memphis Grizzlies. It is believed by many that while Del Negro is not without talent as a head coach, he may not be strong enough in his craft to bring a talented team to that elite level of championship contention.

A report surfaced earlier this week, however, that Del Negro being replaced was far from a forgone conclusion, and that the organization is even considering bringing him back. Whatever his ultimate fate in Los Angeles turns out to be, it is expected to be decided fairly quickly now that a meeting has been scheduled with Clippers owner Donald Sterling.

From Chris Haynes of CSNNW.com:

Los Angeles Clippers owner Donald Sterling has scheduled to meet with head coach Vinny Del Negro over the weekend to discuss Del Negro’s fate with the organization, a league source informed CSNNW.com. According to the source, who spoke on the condition of anonymity due to the sensitivity of the situation, says the two will meet in Los Angeles and a decision is anticipated shortly after.

Sterling’s fondness for Del Negro is one of the main reasons why he’s still being considered, but you have to believe an even bigger one will be what Chris Paul thinks of all this. Paul is an unrestricted free agent, and the Clippers will place plenty of weight behind the superstar point guard’s wishes in terms of whether or not he believes Del Negro is the right man for the job.

Part of the reason Del Negro may be brought back on a short-term deal (even if it’s just for one more year) is the lack of big-name, experienced head coaches on the open market. Most of the guys being talked about for openings around the league are assistant coaches currently, and it might be hard to justify taking a chance on an unproven talent when the Clippers organization already knows it can get at least a serviceable job out of Del Negro, who might even show some improvement after learning from some of this season’s mistakes.