NEW ORLEANS – New Orleans Pelicans coach Monty Williams continued to express appreciation for the franchise’s fans at the end of the season despite hearing boos during introductions at the two home playoff games. But when the boos and heckling were a concern in the regular season, Williams actually told his wife, Ingrid, that it was best that she and their five children stay home.

“It’s weird because I’ve never seen that done in a rebuild,” Williams told Yahoo Sports after a season-ending 109-98 loss to the Golden State Warriors in Game 4 of a first-round series on Saturday night. “I always try to focus on the people that come every day, the people that support us. I hear that stuff. My biggest worry is my family sits behind me. I don’t want my wife and kids hearing that.

“There have been times where I told her to stay home. And that bothered me that I had to tell my wife and kids to stay home because our fans were booing me and we were winning games. That’s the only time that bothered me.”

By most projections, the Pelicans were not expected to make the postseason entering the 2014-15 season. And those projections didn’t account injuries would cause All-Star forward-center Anthony Davis to miss 12 games, sharp-shooter Ryan Anderson to miss 21 games and starting point guard Jrue Holiday to miss 42 games. Williams and the Pelicans, however, were able to overcome the odds and injuries in an extremely tough Western Conference to make the postseason for the first time since 2011.

“It was an amazing year,” Williams said.

Even so, that surprising success didn’t stop some Pelicans fans from giving Williams a hard time. While Williams says he has learned to cope with it individually, he admitted to being overprotective of his family’s feelings.

Monty Williams coaches the New Orleans Pelicans during Game 1 of the first round of the 2015 NBA playoffs. (AP) More

“Our fan base has always been really good here,” Williams said. “It’s just like anything else. Other coaches deal with it, one or two guys or something like that. It doesn’t bother me. The only thing I’ve been concerned with is my wife or family. It’s not the majority of the fans. It’s just a few people that have a disagreement of what I do or the results. That to me is just part of our business.

“My wife has told me she has never heard it. I was probably being too overprotective of my family, but that’s what you do when you’re a father and a husband. But our fans have been great to me. One or two people or five or six people that do that to me, I don’t put too much thought or energy into that.”

Pelicans CEO Mickey Loomis, who also runs the New Orleans Saints, was in Williams’ office after the season-ending loss. Williams will be in the final year of his contract next season and there have not been contract extension talks, sources said. Neither Loomis nor any executive in the Pelicans organization has made a public proclamation stating that Williams will be back next season. Williams’ agent Steve Kaufmann declined comment.

Williams, however, is “100 percent confident” he will be coaching the Pelicans next season.

“I’m confident that I am going to be the coach of this team because Mickey and I talk all the time,” Williams told Yahoo Sports. “And that has never come up. So I don’t think of anything else. I think of coaching the team…

Williams added: “To me, to have this job is a blessing and privilege. I don’t want to go anywhere. I like what we have here. I like the building it the right way.”

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