In a case of history coming awfully close to repeating itself, Rick Carlisle is going to the Indiana Pacers moments after leaving his last job.
According to ESPN’s Tim MacMahon, the former Dallas Mavericks coach has accepted a four-year, $29 million contract to become the next head coach of the Pacers.
Carlisle left Dallas with multiple years remaining on his contract, and he walked away from a team that has one of the best players in the world on its roster for a franchise that did not make the playoffs, and other than Domantas Sabonis, has a roster in need of talent.
Carlisle was always going to be an NBA head coach again, and of the many potential landing spots, this one makes the most sense.
In late May of 2003, the Detroit Pistons fired Carlisle even though the team reached the Eastern Conference finals that season.
Not long thereafter, the Indiana Pacers hired Carlisle, and he coached the team for four years. He had previously served as an assistant on the Pacers under Larry Bird.
Under Carlisle, the Pacers reached the Eastern Conference finals in 2004 and lost to Larry Brown’s Detroit Pistons.
The next season, the Pacers had one of the top teams in the NBA but were derailed early when the “Malice at the Palace” aftermath badly damaged their roster.
Carlisle left the team after the 2006-07 season, saying he thought the players needed a new voice. The Pacers were 181-147 during his tenure in Indiana.
Most of the people who had a role in hiring Carlisle back then have moved on, but they likely still have a voice with longtime team owner Herb Simon.
Bird and longtime team president Donnie Walsh have retired, but Carlisle was liked and respected by the entire organization.
The Pacers finished last season 34-38, and fired coach Nate Bjorkgren after one year.
Carlisle going back to Indiana makes perfect sense.
