It’s the ugly side of life for NBA head coaches but, barring a few exceptions, no one is ever truly safe.
After Gregg Popovich’s departure to the San Antonio Spurs front office, the Miami Heat’s Erik Spoelstra is now the league’s longest-tenured head coach. Five NBA head coaches were fired last season, four from the West and one from the East.
There are several teams which have positioned themselves as all-in on the 2025-26 season. Failure to meet those expectations could result in serious consequences.
When considering four of the dismissals last season were from the West, you have to believe those jobs are currently safest. Add the sense of urgency in the East with how wide open it is and it’s easier to see firings in that conference.
Here are five coaches under the hottest seats in 2025-26.
Nick Nurse, Philadelphia 76ers
Nick Nurse, of course, has plenty of plausible deniability due to Joel Embiid and Paul George’s health. Still, there have been enough controversy and whispers of concerns about his lack of offensive structure the last couple of years that a new voice is best if the Sixers once again fall well short of expectations.
Philadelphia’s thrilling seven-game series loss to the Boston Celtics was only 2.5 years ago. It’s arguable they had enough to close out that series after taking a 3-2 lead. In the two seasons since Nurse took over, the Sixers are 71-93.
Embiid is ready to play opening night and we’ll see from there. We know we won’t see him in both ends of back-to-backs. It is getting increasingly difficult to place any kind of expectations on George’s health.
If things go south this year, president of basketball operations Daryl Morey may deem it best to pivot and build around Tyrese Maxey and VJ Edgecombe. In that case, Nurse is not the head coach for a rebuilding job.
Mike Brown, New York Knicks
Such is life in New York that Mike Brown will face scrutiny from the opening tipoff. He has the unenviable position of taking over from a head coach in Tom Thibodeau who was appreciated by the fanbase for instilling a respected, hard-nosed culture.
Thibodeau was let go because the front office felt there was meat being left on the bone, that this team should have been in the NBA Finals last season. If Brown is unable to deliver with a better roster and a weaker East, he could very well be out the door.
Brown appeared to show he learned great offensive lessons from his previous stops during his first year with the Sacramento Kings. That team had arguably the best offense in the league but steadily declined thereafter. What tricks does Brown have up his sleeve now?
Defensively, Brown will certainly have more dependable options on this Knicks roster than he did with the Kings. Again, the tools are there for him to deliver and he must.
Jamahl Mosley, Orlando Magic
This may come as a bit of a surprise pick but the Magic took a big swing in surrendering a lot of future assets for Desmond Bane. That move screamed of wanting to maximize a year the East is missing Jayson Tatum and Tyrese Haliburton — not to mention, Damian Lillard’s departure — and the Magic brass may be watching very carefully to see if Jamahl Mosley is the right man.
He deserves a lot of credit for making the Magic a tremendous defensive team, ranking second in defensive rating the past two seasons. They have not been anywhere near that offensively. Orlando finished 26th in offensive rating last year and 22nd in 2023-24.
Bane’s acquisition is supposed to alleviate a lot of Orlando’s biggest concerns. This is the season for Mosley to show he can do better when the right tools are at his disposal. If the Magic don’t make it past the first round of the playoffs, the season will be viewed as a major disappointment.
Doc Rivers, Milwaukee Bucks
If there’s one thing we’ve learned about the Bucks front office, it’s they will do anything to make Giannis Antetokounmpo happy.
Antetokounmpo has indicated he will make a judgment call on his future closer to the trade deadline. That’s a huge dose of pressure on the rest of the roster and coaching staff to perform.
Midway through the 2023-24 season, Doc Rivers was brought in to replace Adrian Griffin, who went 30-13 before his dismissal. Under Rivers, the team finished 19-20. Last season, Milwaukee did fare better at 48-34 but finished fifth and lost in the first round.
If Milwaukee is slow out of the gates, the Bucks may well move on from Rivers to try and buy themselves time with Antetokounmpo.
Darko Rajakovic, Toronto Raptors
Internally, the Raptors are quietly confident. General manager Bobby Webster and Co. believe they’ve assembled a squad that can make the playoffs. Trading for Brandon Ingram was a swing to say this team is ready to compete.
Darko Rajakovic was hired primarily on his pedigree to develop young players. It’s a reputation he first developed in San Antonio and bloomed fully in Memphis through his work with Bane.
Through two seasons, Rajakovic has checked off a lot of boxes on that front. Scottie Barnes is actualizing his defensive ceiling and Gradey Dick showed important growth under trying circumstances last year. RJ Barrett has improved his playmaking while Ochai Agbaji has been transformed into a steady rotation player. Jamal Shead and Ja’Kobe Walter had very encouraging rookie seasons.
Now, Rajakovic faces his first real expectations of winning. Despite the culture he’s built, the team was a bottom-six offense and atrocious in the clutch last season. The defense made significant progress but now the other side of the ball must come along.
New ownership is paying for an expensive starting five. If results don’t follow, it could be Rajakovic who takes the fall.
