Boston Celtics History: Top 5 Coaching Fails

Dave Cowens had a fantastic career with the Celtics. He won an MVP and two championships, but his short stint drawing up the Xs and Os did not go so well. Cowens was attempting to follow in the footsteps of the legendary Bill Russell, who succeeded Red Auerbach and won two championships handling both playing and coaching duties.

Cowens went 27-41 in less than a full season after he took over for another Celtics great, Satch Sanders, who started the year 2-12. Cowens was just 30 at the time and he averaged 37 minutes per game that season, clearly spreading himself thin. The Celtics finished 10th in the Eastern Conference and Cowens retired as coach after the season.

He stayed with Boston one more year as simply a player and the great Bill Fitch took over as coach. He guided the Celtics back to prominence and a 61-21 record in his first year with the team. Fitch was aided by the debut of Larry Bird, who took the league by storm and was named an All-Star in his rookie season. Cowens was also named an All-Star that year, for the eighth time in his career.

After retiring for good as a player in 1983, Cowens returned to coaching in the ’90s, first as an assistant with the Spurs and then as the head man for the Charlotte Hornets from 1996-99. He led them to a 51-31 record in 1997-98, but was relieved of his duties the following year after starting the season 4-11. He would go on to coach the Warriors for a year and some change, but went 25-80. He was an undeniable great on the floor, but Cowens couldn’t manage to transfer that success to his coaching career, certainly not the only ex-player who’s struggled adapting to a suit and clipboard.

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