Courtesy of fanrecap
- Milwaukee Bucks fire coach Adrian Griffin despite strong record and second place in Eastern Conference
- Reports suggest experienced coach Doc Rivers is being considered as a replacement
- Griffin’s coaching tenure tied for third shortest in NBA history, only 43 games into his first season
The Milwaukee Bucks made a surprising decision on Tuesday, firing their coach Adrian Griffin, despite the team’s strong performance with a 30-13 record and sitting in second place in the Eastern Conference.
Reports suggest that the team is considering experienced coach Doc Rivers as a replacement for Griffin. Griffin’s departure comes only 43 games into his first season as the Bucks’ coach. He was hired in June 2023, making his head coaching tenure one of the shortest in NBA history.
In fact, Griffin’s coaching stint with the Bucks is tied for the third shortest in NBA history, excluding interim coaches. Only three coaches have had shorter or equally short tenures with a team.
One of those coaches is Gar Heard, who signed a three-year contract with the Washington Wizards in June 1999 but was fired only seven months later when Michael Jordan took over as the team’s president of basketball operations. Heard had a 44-game stint as the coach and never had another full-time head coaching position in the NBA.
Another coach with a 43-game tenure is Rudy Tomjanovich, who took over as the coach of the Los Angeles Lakers in 2004. He resigned midway through the season due to health issues. Adrian Griffin, the recently fired Bucks coach, also had a 43-game tenure with the team, despite their strong record.
Bob Weiss had a short 30-game tenure as the coach of the Seattle SuperSonics during the 2005-2006 season before being replaced by Bob Hill. The team struggled, and even with star players Ray Allen and Rashard Lewis, they failed to make the playoffs.
The shortest coaching stint in NBA history belongs to Jerry Tarkanian, who coached the San Antonio Spurs for only 20 games in 1992. Tarkanian faced difficulties in winning over the locker room and admitted to taking medication for the high blood pressure caused by the stress of coaching. The Spurs dismissed him with a record of 9-11.
