Indiana Pacers GM insists Frank Vogel’s job is safe

Frank Vogel may be feeling the heat under his seat as the head coach of the Indiana Pacers after an ESPN report circulated that he was coaching for his job, but according to Pacers general manager, Kevin Pritchard, his job is safe after speaking to team president Larry Bird.

This comes after the Pacers slumped after the All-Star break with a 16-14 record and lost to the No. 8 seed Atlanta Hawks in the first game of their series earlier this week. The Pacers rebounded nicely with a 101-85 win in Game 2, but the speculation will likely persist that Vogel could be let go if the Pacers don’t get to the Conference Finals and at least challenge the Miami Heat in their potential 1-2 matchup.

Vogel has the support of Bird and Pritchard–for now and from top players Lance Stephenson and Paul George who are preparing for Thursday night’s game 3 and had these comments to Marc Stein.

“Leave Frank alone, man,” Pacers swingman Lance Stephenson told reporters Wednesday after practice. “We [are] getting ready for the playoffs. … I don’t know why the media’s trying to do all this negative stuff on us.”

Said All-Star forward Paul George: “I want to put that pressure on myself, make sure I keep Coach here. … If we get the job done [and] do what we gotta do, everything will take care of itself.”

Vogel has not been a perfect coach, but he doesn’t deserve to be fired, at least so long as the Hawks don’t pull off what would be a shocking first round upset.