What are the fastest firings in sports history? Where Willie Green’s 12-game dismissal ranks

Willie Green’s dismissal put him in league with coaches like Steve Nash, Urban Meyer and Frank Reich, among others, who lost their jobs near the beginning of a season. Dylan Buell / Getty Images

Less than a month after the New Orleans Pelicans tipped off the 2025-26 season, the team said it was done with coach Willie Green. There was speculation just weeks into the new season that Green’s job was in jeopardy.

He wound up getting 12 games — amid the Pelicans’ 2-10 record — before his dismissal Saturday, a mark that isn’t as rare as some early-season NBA coach firings, but is still uncommon.

An early pink slip also isn’t unique to basketball, as teams across all sports have moved quickly to swap out coaches in moves to salvage seasons. Here are some of the most notable quick coach firings in history.

NBA

• Dolph Schayes — 1 game, 1971: Schayes is a Basketball Hall of Famer and a member of the NBA 75th Anniversary Team, but neither of those accomplishments has anything to do with his 1971 coaching job. In his second year coaching the expansion Buffalo Braves, Schayes was fired one game into the 1971-72 season after team owner Paul Snyder said, “We weren’t happy with the team’s performance.” Buffalo lost 123-90 on opening night, then went on to finish with a 22-60 record.
• Earl Watson — 3 games, 2017: A trio of blowout losses to open the Phoenix Suns’ 2017-18 season got Watson fired. The final nail was a 42-point loss in the third game, which came on the heels of a 48-point defeat on opening night that set a franchise record for futility. The team finished the year 21-61.
• Mike Brown — 5 games, 2012: After leading the Los Angeles Lakers to the playoffs in 2011-12, a 1-4 start in 2012-13 ended Brown’s tenure in Los Angeles. Despite having a win-now roster after acquiring Steve Nash and Dwight Howard in the offseason, the Lakers failed to win a playoff round after finishing the regular season 45-37 under the leadership of Mike D’Antoni, who was fired after the following season.
• Ty Lue — 6 games, 2018: Lue coached the Cleveland Cavaliers to three straight NBA Finals appearances before being relieved just six games into the 2018-19 season. Despite losing LeBron James in free agency months prior, Cleveland ownership had hoped the team could remain competitive. Instead, the Cavs started the year 0-6 to cost Lue his job, and then finished the year 19-63.
• Steve Nash — 7 games, 2022: In another win-now quick trigger, the Brooklyn Nets and Nash were both on the same page about the team finding a new coach after a 2-5 start in 2022-23. Nash’s Nets tenure was full of controversies, from Kevin Durant asking for Nash’s firing to Kyrie Irving’s refusal to get vaccinated for COVID-19 and then getting suspended for his retweet of an anti-Semitic film. The Nets finished 2022-23 with 45 wins but failed to win a playoff round.

Notable mentions: Gene Shue was fired by the Philadelphia 76ers six games into the 1977-78 season after leading the team to the finals in 1977. Tom “Satch” Sanders lasted 12 games with the Celtics in 1978-79. Dave Cowens replaced him and was the last player-coach in NBA history. The Hornets have also acted fast in the past, firing Byron Scott after nine games in 2009.

NFL

• George Allen — 2 preseason games, 1978: Allen made the Pro Football Hall of Fame on the strength of his coaching achievements with the Los Angeles Rams and Washington Redskins from 1966 to 1977, but his return to Los Angeles in 1978 was a stain on Allen’s historic resume. Known for his hard-nosed style, Allen clashed with the team’s stars, some of whom aired grievances publicly. After two underwhelming summer exhibition games, Allen was fired in mid-August before he coached a single regular-season game.
• Lou Holtz — 13 games, 1976: Before Holtz cemented his legacy as a college coach and broadcaster, he dipped his toes in the NFL ranks with the 1976 New York Jets. That reign lasted just 13 games, as Holtz resigned in December after a 3-10 start and his quip, “God did not put Lou Holtz on this earth to coach in the pros.” He returned to the college ranks, where he would retire three decades later with 249 career wins.
• Urban Meyer — 13 games, 2021: Another college football legend, Meyer lasted only 13 games with the Jacksonville Jaguars in 2021. His tenure infamously turned into what one team personnel member described as “the most toxic environment” they had ever been part of. After winning national championships with Florida and Ohio State, Meyer’s perfectionist style clashed mightily with pro players, leading to a 2-11 start before getting fired for cause after kicker Josh Lambo accused the coach of kicking him during warmups.

Notable mentions: Lane Kiffin was fired four games into his second season with the Oakland Raiders in 2008. Frank Reich was fired by the Carolina Panthers 11 games into his tenure in 2023.

MLB

• Phil Garner — 6 games, 2002: Garner barely made it to the second week of April before the Detroit Tigers decided to clean house following the team’s 0-6 start. The Tigers went on to lose 106 games that season and 119 games the next year, while Garner returned to managing in 2004 with the Houston Astros and guided them to the National League pennant in 2005.
• Cal Ripken, Sr. — 6 games, 1988: Despite both of his sons, Cal Jr. and Bill, being on the team, the Baltimore Orioles dismissed Ripken Sr. just six games into the 1988 season after a winless start. The firing didn’t change Baltimore’s fortunes, as the Orioles went on to start the season 0-21 before finally winning a game. The losing streak is the longest to start a season in MLB history, and Baltimore finished the year with 107 losses. Ripken Sr. never coached again, while Bill changed his number from No. 3 to No. 7 to honor his father that season. Cal Jr. stayed in town for the next 13 years of his Hall of Fame career.

Notable mentions: Carlos Beltran was fired by the New York Mets before coaching a single game after his involvement in the Astros’ sign-stealing scandal. Yogi Berra was fired by the New York Yankees after 16 games in 1985, leading to him being estranged from the team until 1999.

NHL

• Peter Laviolette — 3 games, 2013: It took just three games for the Philadelphia Flyers to move on from Laviolette in his fifth season with the team, but owner Ed Snider later said he could smell the disaster coming months earlier after “one of the worst training camps” he had ever seen. After the team scored just one goal in the first three games, Snider replaced Laviolette with Craig Berube, who coached the Flyers to the playoffs.
• Ivan Hlinka — 4 games, 2001: Following a storied coaching career in Czech hockey in the ’90s, Hlinka guided the Pittsburgh Penguins to the conference finals in his first season in 2000-01. But after the team traded star Jaromír Jágr in the offseason, Hlinka was criticized by Penguins great Mario Lemieux, who, as franchise owner, had come out of retirement to captain the team. Hlinka was fired after a 0-4 start to the 2001-02 season and replaced by Rick Kehoe, another franchise legend and Lemieux’s former teammate.

Notable mentions: The Chicago Blackhawks fired Denis Savard after four games in 2008, replacing him with Joel Quenneville, who went on to win three titles with the team. In 1944, Chicago fired Paul Thompson after one game. Jacques Demers was fired by the Montreal Canadiens five games into the 1995-96 season.

Premier League

• Ange Postecoglou — 8 games, 2025: After successful stints with Celtic and Tottenham Hotspur, Postecoglou lasted just 39 days with Nottingham Forest. He was axed after just eight games and no wins, hardly over a month into his two-year contract.
• Sam Allardyce — 4 games, 2023: Allardyce’s stint with Leeds United didn’t even last a month in 2023. He took over the team following the dismissal of Javi Gracia with four matches to play in the season, and after losing three times and drawing once, he mutually agreed to leave the club following their relegation.

Nov 16, 2025

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