Head Coach Frank Vogel Signs Extension With Indiana Pacers

The Indiana Pacers lost star player Paul George for the entire season but they will be having head coach Frank Vogel for multi-years after signing an extension with the franchise.

Terms of the deal were not announced in the team’s press release.

“We’re very happy to extend Frank’s contract,” Pacers President of Basketball Operations Larry Bird said via the Pacers’ official website. “I believe he has done a great job and I look forward to continuing our relationship and working together to achieve all of our goals.”

Vogel can finally breathe easier after being put in the hot seat after a disappointing 2014 postseason by his Pacers, which got booted out once again by rivals Miami Heat in the Eastern Conference Finals.

“I’m excited for the opportunity to continue my tenure as Pacers’ coach,” Vogel said in the same release by the team. “It’s an honor to represent this franchise and lead this team. I look forward to the challenge ahead. I’m grateful to have had good, coachable teams along with coaching staffs that have been second to none.”

The 41-year-old Vogel will have a tougher time in the upcoming season with George out of commission because of a broken leg injury and another star, Lance Stephenson, bolting out of Indiana for another East team, the Charlotte Hornets.

Still, Bird’s vote of confidence on Vogel will bring stability to the team missing their best player and on a temporary transition year due to the injury. Without George, Vogel will look for a bounce back year from centre Roy Hibbert and regular contributions from veterans point guard George Hill and power forward David West.

Vogel is one of the younger coaches in the entire league with assistant coaching experience with the Boston Celtics (2001 to 2004), Philadelphia 76ers (2004 to 2005) and the Pacers (2007 to 2011). He was named the head coach for Indiana in 2011.

In lieu of George, Vogel will try to maximise new acquisitions like Rodney Stuckey and C.J. Miles to maintain the Pacers’ status as one of the top teams in the Eastern Conference.