Getting Fired Isn't the End

Injuries to the Lakers, drama in Brooklyn and the dominance of Nikola Jokic and Stephen Curry mainly stole the NBA headlines this season.

But another key story that hasn't gotten much attention is the redemption of previously-fired head coaches.

Of the 20 teams that qualified for the playoffs, 14 were led by head coaches who were fired at one point or another along their coaching journeys. They are:

Doc Rivers, Philadelphia 76ers: Fired after 2019-20 season by the Los Angeles ClippersMike Budenholzer, Milwaukee Bucks: Let go after the 2017-18 season by the Atlanta HawksTom Thibodeau, New York Knicks: Let go after 2014-15 season by the Chicago Bulls; Fired during the 2018-19 season by the Minnesota TimberwolvesNate McMillan, Atlanta Hawks: Fired after 2019-20 season by the Indiana PacersScott Brooks, Washington Wizards: Fired after 2014-15 season by the Oklahoma City ThunderQuin Snyder, Utah Jazz: Fired in 2006 by the University of MissouriMonty Williams, Phoenix Suns: Fired after 2014-15 season by the New Orleans PelicansMike Malone, Denver Nuggets: Fired in 2014 by the Sacramento KingsTyronn Lue, Los Angeles Clippers: Fired in 2018 by the Cleveland CavaliersRick Carlisle, Dallas Mavericks: Fired after 2002-03 season by the Detroit Pistons; Fired after 2006-07 season by the Indiana PacersTerry Stotts, Portland Trail Blazers: Fired in 2004 by the Atlanta Hawks; Fired in 2007 by the Milwaukee BucksFrank Vogel, Los Angeles Lakers: Didn’t have contract renewed by the Indiana Pacers in 2016; Fired after 2017-18 season by the Orlando MagicGregg Popovich, San Antonio Spurs: Fired in 1992 as a Spurs assistantTaylor Jenkins, Memphis Grizzlies: Let go after the 2017-18 season as an assistant to Budenholzer with the Hawks

Of the top five teams in the East, four of the coaches have been fired within the last four years, and Rivers and McMillan were remarkably coaching different teams in last year’s playoffs.

While their tactics and personalities might be different, what all 14 of these coaches have in common is that they didn’t become paralyzed by rejection. They understood that often their methods work, but sometimes they don’t, and that’s not an indictment of their ability.

We like to think of the best coaches and leaders as God-like figures who have innate abilities that allow them to stack up victory after victory while we struggle mightily to lead our teams. But while that’s a convenient narrative, it’s not very accurate.

Even the elite hit major roadblocks along their journeys and struggle with confidence and conviction. What differentiates them is that they’re able to use their firings as fuel, as growth opportunities, as chances to re-start under new circumstances without any previous baggage.

How many of these coaches would now claim that getting fired was the best thing to ever happen to them? Likely most.

Whether we’ve recently been fired, demoted or suffered some other form of personal rejection, let’s remind ourselves of this list and commit to not taking whatever hardship we face personally.

The first step toward newfound success is often painful failure.