Mar 31, 2016; Indianapolis, IN, USA; Indiana Pacers coach Frank Vogel yells from the sidelines against the Orlando Magic during the second half at Bankers Life Fieldhouse. Mandatory Credit: Brian Spurlock-USA TODAY Sports
The Indiana Pacers are about to complete their 50th season as a franchise and they've had 15 head coaches during their existence. Which of these men accomplished the most while leading the Pacers?
The Indiana Pacers have a long and storied history, going back to the team's inaugural season in 1967-68. The Pacers have made the playoffs in 32 of their 49 completed seasons and hang three ABA championship banners in the rafters at Bankers Life Fieldhouse.
Like every franchise, Indiana has had their down periods over the years, but there has been plenty of success as well. The Pacers won ABA titles in 1970, '72 and '73 and made the NBA Finals in 2000.
Fifteen head coaches have roamed the sideline for the Pacers, with varying degrees of success. It is difficult to evaluate a coach's performance as much of it is subjective, and also depends largely on the quality of the roster a coach has to work with.
NO Coach ever won a game by what he knows…
It is what his players have LEARNED that wins… #GoodTeachingLeadsToGoodLearning#FinalFour— Sharman White (@coachswhite) March 27, 2017
For the purpose of this analysis, we are going to rank the top five head coaches in Indiana Pacers history by a combination of their win-loss record (both in the regular season and playoffs), length of tenure and, of course, conference titles and league championships.
Only one of the five coaches who made our list goes back to the ABA days and some might question the validity of his inclusion since the ABA was a competing league to the NBA prior to their merger in 1976.
Based on head-to-head team matchups (the ABA won that battle 79-76) and the large number of former ABA players who became NBA All-Stars after the merger, it is reasonable to conclude that winning as an ABA head coach was comparable in difficulty to the same task in the NBA.
Let's take a look at the five coaches who accomplished the most during their time in Indiana with the Pacers.
Mar 29, 2015; Indianapolis, IN, USA; Dallas Mavericks head coach Rick Carlisle against the Indiana Pacers at Bankers Life Fieldhouse. Mandatory Credit: Thomas J. Russo-USA TODAY Sports
5. Rick Carlisle
Tenure: 4 seasons (2003-07)
Regular Season Winning %: .552
Playoff Winning %: .514
Rick Carlisle played with Ralph Sampson, one of the best college basketball players of all time, at the University of Virginia.
He went on to play with Larry Bird and the Boston Celtics and during Carlisle's three years there, the Celtics played in the NBA Finals each year (winning the crown in 1986).
Being surrounded by greatness in college and in the NBA was just one of the factors that contributed to Rick Carlisle's smooth transition into coaching and once he worked his way into an NBA head coaching position for the first time in 2001, his success was immediate.
Rick Carlisle made this list despite a severe handicap — most of his tenure with the Pacers came after "The Brawl" with the Detroit Pistons in November 2004.
Indiana's franchise was set back for years as a result of suspensions and forced, ill-advised trades that took place due to a few players' actions that night in Detroit.
Carlisle led the Pacers to the best record in the NBA during his first season with the team (61-21), and showed further coaching acumen by keeping the franchise afloat during the dark post-brawl period.
Carlisle went on to have even more success as head coach of the Dallas Mavericks, winning the NBA Championship in 2011.
Rick Carlisle was given a huge challenge during his years with the Pacers and his adept handling of that challenge lands him on the list of Indiana's best and most accomplished coaches.
Sep 28, 2015; Indianapolis, IN, USA; Indiana Pacers forward Paul George (13) and coach Frank Vogel pose for a photo during media day at Bankers Life Fieldhouse. Mandatory Credit: Brian Spurlock-USA TODAY Sports
4. Frank Vogel
Tenure: 6 seasons (2010-16)
Regular Season Winning %: .580
Playoff Winning %: .508
Frank Vogel's tale is a classic rags-to-riches story. He began humbly as a student manager for the Kentucky Wildcats basketball team and his first NBA job was not much glitzier (he became the Boston Celtics' video coordinator after graduating from Kentucky).
Rick Pitino was Vogel's first significant coaching influence, as Pitino mentored Frank Vogel at both the University of Kentucky and with the Boston Celtics.
Pacers president of basketball operations Larry Bird surprised many around the NBA by hiring Vogel to be his head coach during the 2010-11 campaign, but Frank Vogel made the most of his opportunity.
Vogel led the Pacers during one of their most successful eras since joining the NBA, taking the team to consecutive Eastern Conference Finals appearances in 2013 and 2014.
Frank Vogel was credited with changing the Pacers' team culture upon his arrival as head coach, cultivating a supportive, player-friendly atmosphere, while also establishing a new, tougher team identity with the evolution of "smash-mouth basketball" in Indiana.
Larry Bird decided it was time for a change last summer, but when Frank Vogel was not retained by the Pacers as head coach, he garnered immediate interest around the league and was hired by the Orlando Magic in May 2016.
Frank Vogel's journey is a testament to what hard work and perseverance can do.
Vogel set a goal of working in the NBA and eventually becoming a head coach, and he not only achieved those goals, but he has prospered and looks to be someone who will be a fixture in the league for a long time to come.
Mar 6, 2016; Cincinnati, OH, USA; Southern Methodist Mustangs head coach Larry Brown reacts from the bench against the Cincinnati Bearcats in the first half at Fifth Third Arena. Mandatory Credit: Aaron Doster-USA TODAY Sports
3. Larry Brown
Tenure: 4 seasons (1993-97)
Regular Season Winning %: .579
Playoff Winning %: .579
Larry Brown has one of the more intriguing basketball resumes you will find. He was a point guard who starred at North Carolina, playing for two coaching giants (Frank McGuire and Dean Smith).
Brown went on to a pro career in the ABA, making three All-Star teams during his time in the league, despite his diminutive size (5-foot-9, 160 pounds).
Coaching seemed to be a natural fit for Larry Brown, and he proved to be an outstanding head coach from the moment he got his first job in the ABA in the early 1970s.
The Indiana Pacers were in a down cycle when the team hired Brown to be their sideline leader in 1993 and as he's done everywhere he's been, he quickly turned the team around.
Under Brown's watchful eye, the Pacers made the Eastern Conference Finals in his first two seasons with the team. However, after a four-year run in Indiana, Brown seemed to get restless and he decided to resign in April 1997.
Three primary things appear to define Larry Brown as a coach. First, he is a great teacher and loves to work with young players and develop their knowledge of the game.
Secondly, he has drastically improved every team he has taken over as head coach at both the college and pro levels.
And lastly, once he joins a program or franchise and improves that team's fortunes, he leaves. This has been such a consistent pattern during his coaching career, it has even earned him a snarky nickname: "Next Town Brown."
Larry Brown is a great basketball coach and a Hall of Famer, but he doesn't stay in one place too long. Brown left Indiana after four years, but he gave Pacers fans a memorable ride while it lasted.
May 16, 2016; Indianapolis, IN, USA; Indiana Pacers president of basketball operations Larry Bird speaks to the press during a press conference at Bankers Life Fieldhouse. Mandatory Credit: Trevor Ruszkowski-USA TODAY Sports
2. Larry Bird
Tenure: 3 seasons (1997-00)
Regular Season Winning %: .687
Playoff Winning %: .615
Conference Titles: 1
Basketball fans know Larry Bird's history: small-town basketball superstar in the state of Indiana, college superstar at Indiana State University and one of the top NBA players of all time.
Once Bird retired from the NBA in 1992 and his body began to recover from 13 years of professional basketball, he began to look for opportunities to get back into the game in some capacity.
Bird briefly worked as a consultant for the Celtics and he was eventually offered the head coaching position with the Indiana Pacers in 1997.
The Pacers made the Eastern Conference Finals all three years that Larry Bird was their coach, culminating in an NBA Finals appearance in 2000.
Larry Bird 3 years coaching @Pacers
1998 Took MJ Bulls 7 in ECF
1999 ECF
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Bird stated when he accepted the job that he feels the shelf life of an NBA head coach is three years and that he would resign after his third season in Indiana. True to his word, Bird left coaching after the 1999-00 campaign.
It is fair to point out that Larry Bird inherited a veteran team and had the support of experienced assistant coaches during his tenure, but leading a talented, experienced team is not always as easy as it seems.
Bird allowed his assistants to handle most of the details, while he took on the role of overseer. This worked very well with the roster Bird had, and when he did choose to speak up about something, the players listened intently.
Larry Bird's coaching career may have been brief, but he engineered the Pacers' most successful three-year run since the team has been in the NBA.
Nov 18, 2016; Indianapolis, IN, USA; A general view of the 50 year logo on the court prior to the game between the Indiana Pacers and the Phoenix Suns at Bankers Life Fieldhouse. Mandatory Credit: Trevor Ruszkowski-USA TODAY Sports
1. Bobby 'Slick' Leonard
Tenure: 12 seasons (1968-80)
Regular Season Winning %: .537
Playoff Winning %: .595
Conference Titles: 5
League Championships: 3
If it's true that players and coaches are ultimately judged by championships, then the No. 1 spot on this list is a no-brainer. Slick Leonard is a Hoosier through-and-through; he grew up in Terre Haute and starred at Indiana University as a college player.
Leonard coached in the NBA for a couple seasons before taking the reins of the Pacers, who at the time were a fledgling ABA franchise in their second year of existence.
Leonard and the upstart Pacers found immediate and sustained success, building the team into what many consider to be the model franchise in ABA league history.
Indiana went to five division finals and won three league championships during the ABA years, and even though things didn't initially go so well for the Pacers once the ABA and NBA merged in 1976, Leonard's place in franchise history was already secure.
Bobby Leonard's three ABA championships separate him from all other Indiana Pacers coaches, but his long tenure that spanned the ABA and NBA years is also a significant factor in his No. 1 ranking.
Leonard's 12 seasons as head coach of the Pacers dwarfs the length of time any other man has coached the team (the next-highest total is six years), and "Slick" established Indiana as a viable franchise at a time when that was a difficult task in professional basketball.
Bobby Leonard's association with the Pacers didn't end there, as he is now in his 32nd year as a broadcaster for the team, currently handling radio commentary duties.
Bobby "Slick" Leonard is not only the most successful Pacers head coach of all time, he is a beloved franchise cornerstone who's vast contributions to the team cannot truly be measured.
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