When you combine an eight-year tenure that has seen no season ended later than the Eastern Conference Finals, a roster that is growing more expensive with every offseason extension, and a season that has fallen far below expectations, you end up with the current rumors that Boston Celtics head coach Brad Stevens could potentially be coaching elsewhere next season.
Indiana University would reportedly relish the idea of Stevens joining the fold in Bloomington to be the head coach of the Hoosiers, according to the Indy Star’s Zach Osterman:
"Stevens, a Zionsville native son of a former IU football player who took Butler to back-to-back national title games, is many Indiana fans’ white whale. He’s been on the wish list for closing in on a decade, at once because of his background, his accomplishments and his cerebral, defense-to-offense style that would fit Indiana culturally."
Now, the usual caveat with the current Stevens rumors is that he would likely be able to land on his feet in the NBA, with other franchises ready to scoop him up. And truth be told, there are teams that likely saw what he did to expedite the Cs rebuild and go on deep postseason runs and want to replace their current locker-room voice with his.
But if he is anything like Micah Shrewsberry–his assistant at Butler and in Boston who just got hired by Penn State for his first head coaching gig–Stevens values the close personal relationships the college game nurtures as opposed to the more transactional relationships in the pros.
If that is the case, and the season ends in a second-round ouster (or earlier), there could be a new head coach on the Boston Celtics sideline next season.
Here are four potential options:
Boston Celtics possible Brad Stevens replacement #1: Steve Clifford
Since joining the Magic as their head coach, Steve Clifford has done nothing but elevate the profile of the team. Mired in mediocrity and formerly unable to qualify for the postseason since Dwight Howard left town, Orlando has shifted the narrative since Clifford became the lead locker-room voice.
The Magic were likely in for another step forward from their core in 2020-21, but devastating injuries to both Jonathan Isaac and Markelle Fultz derailed the team’s hopes of remaining competitive this year. Those hopes were essentially dashed for good when Cole Anthony missed a month of action due to a fractured rib.
The hand dealt to him has been a challenging one in 2020-21, but if Clifford isn’t retained by Orlando this offseason, he’d be a proven Cs replacement that has shown his ability to bring far less talented teams (Charlotte, Orlando) to the postseason.
Boston Celtics possible Brad Stevens replacement #2: Kevin McHale
Perhaps a good way to reinspire confidence from the Boston Celtics fanbase would be for the team to bring in an all-time Cs legend who spent his entire career in green and white.
While Kevin McHale has not coached in the NBA since a rough start to the 2015-16 season, his firing was perhaps premature (particularly after his Houston Rockets had just played in the Western Conference Finals) and there may still be a possibility that he can do great things as a head coach in the NBA.
McHale recently stated that the Cs should be doing more to make each other better on the hardwood, so maybe McHale would be willing to answer that call himself and lead the team’s stars into the future after overseeing James Harden’s ascension in Houston.
It’d be a storybook ending to see McHale replicate his championship success as a player by bringing another banner to Boston as a coach.
Boston Celtics possible Brad Stevens replacement #3: Rick Pitino
Speaking of homecomings, Rick Pitino is currently in the midst of a triumphant coaching return to his home state himself. Born in the Big Apple, Pitino has led Iona (of New Rochelle) to the NCAA Tournament in 2021 after winning the MAAC conference in his first season with the Gaels.
Following a scandalous exit from college basketball following wild accusations and an investigation into the Louisville basketball program, Pitino’s banishment from the American head coaching circuit ended at the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic last March.
With his Cardinals tenure behind him, Pitino has moved on to lead a mid-major into the Big Dance, and a respectable showing (or, obviously, an upset) against the SEC Champion Alabama Crimson Tide could put him back on the national coaching radar.
If that happens, the Boston Celtics should give him a call.
Boston Celtics possible Brad Stevens replacement #4: Patrick Ewing
The homecoming theme stops here with long-time New York Knicks star Patrick Ewing being the final suggestion. Unfortunately for Ewing, a happy return to his home couldn’t even occur after the Georgetown head coach was repeatedly badgered by the staff at Madison Square Garden during the Big East tournament.
Speaking of said tournament, the Hoyas shockingly won the Big East tournament and are now a #12-seeded conference champion of one of college basketball’s historically great conferences.
Ewing is only coaching in the nation’s capital with Georgetown because an NBA opportunity never came. The Knicks ship has seemingly sailed with the New York fanbase in love with a team with a 20-20 record seeing Tom Thibodeau as the team’s savior.
Charlotte and Orlando both had chances to promote Ewing as well, but his work with Dwight Howard and Al Jefferson to improve their post-games wasn’t convincing enough to have a franchise give him the reigns to the team.
Ewing is already on the national radar following Georgetown’s Big East victory, but an upset over the Colorado Buffaloes (and anyone else thereafter) would shoot him to the top of any competent team’s wish-list.