8 candidates to be the Bucks’ next head coach, including Doc Rivers

The Milwaukee Bucks were a good team, but they probably weren’t great. And that was precisely Adrian Griffin’s problem.

News of Griffin’s firing in Milwaukee floored the NBA world on Tuesday. Not because folks were shocked the Bucks fired Griffin, who reportedly had issues with his scheme and some of his players. But because of the timing. At 30-13, Milwaukee is tied for the second-best record in the NBA at the halfway point of the regular season. There was no guarantee that standings success would last but, again, the second-best record in the league! It’s late January!

Nonetheless, the Bucks clearly have their eyes on someone who they believe can elevate their roster in the postseason. Giannis Antetokounmpo and Damian Lillard won’t be around forever. One of the rumored early favorites is Doc Rivers, who might be able to deliver on that promise.

Here’s a list of head coaching candidates for the Bucks to consider as they chase a second title with Antetokounmpo.

The clubhouse leader, Rivers last coached the Philadelphia 76ers from 2020 to 2023. He has a championship with the 2008 Boston Celtics and usually coaches steady 50-plus-win squads. However, he hasn’t taken a team to a conference finals in more than a decade.

The former ESPN announcer hasn’t been a head coach in nearly a decade. However, with no television duties at this time, Jackson is available and has a precedent of success with the Golden State Warriors (pre-dynasty). Hiring him would be a bet that he’s learned a lot about the game in all his time away from coaching.

As a head coach, Atkinson helped the Brooklyn Nets out of rebuilding Purgatory from 2016 to 2020. He was also a celebrated assistant during the Warriors’ 2022 title run. Atkinson has a reputation for great player development and might be the strategizer the Bucks desire.

After taking the Memphis Grizzlies to the playoffs in 2017, Fizdale’s recent track record mostly stems from being a top assistant to the Los Angeles Lakers’ Darvin Ham and the Phoenix Suns’ Frank Vogel. Fizdale has some experience elevating a team beyond its means — something that Milwaukee is probably seeking in its next head coach.

A three-time NBA champion as a player, Cassell has carved out a fantastic coaching career as an assistant lately. His most notable time might have been under Rivers with the 76ers, but he’s now the right-hand man for Joe Mazzulla with the Boston Celtics. Cassell feels like one of those guys destined for a head-coaching opportunity sooner rather than later, and it could come with the Bucks.

Van Gundy is another former NBA coach who is no longer a commentator for ESPN. His main claim to fame is probably taking the 1999 New York Knicks to the NBA Finals. For the time being, Van Gundy has a “senior consultant” role with the Boston Celtics. But with a grand opportunity to try and get a second title for Antetokounmpo, don’t discount the possibility that Van Gundy returns to the coaching ranks.

As a head coach, Van Gundy was last seen trying to revitalize the New Orleans Pelicans in 2021. As a commentator, he’s currently one of the lead voices for the NBA on TNT and men’s college basketball on CBS. But the itch to return to coaching might not be completely gone. And it’s hard to discount Van Gundy’s peak with the late 2000s Orlando Magic, who won the Eastern Conference in 2009 and 59 games in two consecutive seasons.

You might remember Dave Joerger. He was the Memphis Grizzlies’ coach during the best days of the Zach Randolph and Marc Gasol era, culminating with a deep playoff run in 2015. Joerger hasn’t been a head honcho with a team since a stint with the 2019 Sacramento Kings, but he definitely has the chops to come back if he wants to.