Fired former Boston Celtics head coach expected to receive interest in offseason from other teams

With the Boston Celtics promoting Joe Mazzulla from interim head coach to full-time head coach and handing him a multi-year contract extension, formerly suspended but now confirmed fired former Ime Udoka is now out of a job.

That might not be for long, though, with Udoka set to receive interest from teams in need of a new coach this offseason according to Sports Illustrated’s Chris Mannix.

In fact, Mannix went as far as to say that Udoka would be a ‘strong candidate’ for teams this offseason in need of a new sideline leader:

Teams that would be better off with fired Boston Celtics head coach Ime Udoka

Hearing that Udoka will be a head coaching candidate in the offseason is not a surprise. Udoka was nearly hired by the Nets before public backlash forced Brooklyn to backtrack and eventually promote interim head coach Jacque Vaughn. While the new-look post-Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving Nets would’ve been an intriguing challenge for Udoka, there are several other teams that would do well to bring the 45-year-old on board.

The Knicks could be looking to replace Tom Thibodeau in the offseason should they continue their decade-long drought of winning a playoff series. Billy Donovan could be banished from the Bulls if Chicago doesn’t figure out how to get their highly-compensated underperforming roster in a playoff position. Perhaps the Clippers could use a reset with Ty Lue not getting the most of a star-studded cast in Hollywood.

Despite the controversy surrounding Udoka’s affairs with Boston Celtics organizational personnel, the reigning Eastern Conference champion head coach didn’t commit a crime and had his personal business handled in private until the team was forced to announce his absence.

He deserves another chance to work outside of Boston — and it looks like he’ll be getting it.