The Charlotte Hornets will become the latest team to enter the market for a new head coach. One day after it was announced that the New York Knicks and Orlando Magic had fired Jeff Hornacek and Frank Vogel, respectively, news dropped that the Charlotte Hornets will not bring back Steve Clifford.
The team announced the news via its official PR Twitter account, and Marc Stein of the New York Times reported the decision came after Clifford met with new general manager Mitch Kupchak.
NEWS: The @hornets have relieved Head Coach Steve Clifford of his head coaching duties.
— Charlotte Hornets PR (@HornetsPR) April 13, 2018
The Hornets have announced the firing of coach Steve Clifford after he met today with new GM Mitch Kupchak
— Marc Stein (@TheSteinLine) April 13, 2018
Clifford had been at the helm in Charlotte for five years, and accrued a 196-214 record with two appearances in the postseason at that time. This season, the team went 36-46, and Clifford missed a handful of games due to health issues.
Clifford had never won fewer than 33 games in a season with the Hornets despite the fact that it wasn’t always the easiest job. But with a new front office coming in, Clifford is on the way out. He’s a respected coach who has been all over the place as an assistant, and as Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN reports, Clifford could be a candidate for a head coaching job for another team that has a vacancy, citing the Magic, Knicks, Suns, Bucks, and Grizzlies.
