New Orleans Pelicans fired head coach Willie Green after a 2-10 start to the 2025-26 season, the team announced Saturday. Green, originally hired after a long stint as an assistant under Monty Williams at Phoenix Suns in 2021, was fired early in his fifth season in New Orleans after a disappointing start that included an NBA-record three 30-point losses in his first six games.
Assistant coach James Borrego has been named interim head coach.
“After careful evaluation, we have made the difficult decision to make a change in head coach,” executive vice president of basketball operations Joe Dumars said in a statement. “I have the utmost respect for Willie Green and truly appreciate his contributions to the Pelicans organization and the New Orleans community. We wish him and his family all the best for the future.”
Green's time with the Pelicans began with some hope. He took over the team after just two seasons in a promising career Zion Williamson. At that time, New Orleans was still overwhelmed by the influx of capital from Anthony Davis And Jrue Holiday bargaining. They still had a lot of young talent led by Williamson and Brandon Ingramand a stellar 2021 draft class featuring Trey Murphy, Herb Jones and Jose Alvarado only raised expectations.
Willie Green was a symptom of much deeper problems for the Pelicans, and a new coach probably won't be able to fix them.
Sam Quinn
However, all of these talented young players struggled to stay healthy on a New Orleans team that could never find a consistent lineup. In the period when the Pelicans were able to assemble essentially the same starting lineup, between early December 2023, when C.J. McCollum returned from injury, and March 2024, when they lost Ingram to another player, they went 31-16 and looked like a true Western Conference sleeper.
Ingram's injury slowed the Pelicans, and then Williamson suffered his own injury in the Play-In Tournament. The Pelicans haven't been competitive since then, falling out of the playoffs. Thunder shortly thereafter before finishing 21-61 in an injury-plagued 2024-25 season. At the end of the season, David Griffin, the general manager who hired Green, was fired and replaced by Joe Dumars. Instead of bringing in his coach immediately, Dumars allowed Green to start the season and try to prove he was fit for the job long-term.
In the end, he couldn't do it. The Pelicans lost their first six games by 107 points. Perhaps more worrisome for the team's long-term prospects is Green's reluctance to use the rookie. Derick Queen at significant moments. Apart from the only 34-minute match against Spurs in the absence of other big players other than Williamson, Queen mostly played between 10 and 20 minutes per game. Considering the Pelicans gave up unprotected control of their 2026 first-round draft pick to acquire him, the front office probably wants to see more of him this season.
Over the summer, New York Knicks tried to lure Borrego to become the top assistant to their new head coach Mike Brown. The Pelicans decided not to give the Knicks permission to interview him. Now ex Charlotte Hornets The coach serves as the Pelicans' interim candidate.
Borrego in the short term, and whoever has a job in the long term will get his job. The Pelicans have been in New Orleans since 2003 and have won only two playoff series despite drafting three superstar talents. Chris PaulAnthony Davis and Williamson each made the majority of their lineups during this period. The roster features Williamson's diminished production, limited shooting, an inexperienced frontcourt, and all the money invested in a currently injured player. Dejaunte Murrayneeds serious modernization if it wants to be competitive in the near future. Replacing Green would be just the beginning of a long and painful reboot for New Orleans.
