With the recent firings of Michael Malone and Taylor Jenkins, the question arises, “Which NBA coach could be next?” Only time will tell, but a new study from the Action Network shed some light on this. After a tremendous run to the 2024 NBA Finals, the Dallas Mavericks fell from grace, especially following the Luka Doncic trade. Jason Kidd is No. 3 on the Action Network’s study, so could he be on the hot seat? Read on to find out.
New Study Ranks Jason Kidd
According to a new study by the Action Network, Jason Kidd currently ranks as the No. 3 most overrated NBA head coach, with 840 mentions of Kidd, 52, being labeled as such by social media sentiment. The Action Network ranked Kidd after tracking social media mentions of the word “overrated.”
It’s unclear if Kidd will be fired as the Mavericks’ head coach, but Jenkins could become an option for the Mavericks. Jenkins, 40, is a defensive-minded head coach who is successful when working with healthy teams. Jenkins might have Anthony Davis, Dereck Lively II, and PJ Washington Jr. as three switchable big men in the Mavericks’ starting lineup and bring his defensive scheme to Dallas.
New Study Rankings In General
The Action Network ranked the top five most overrated NBA head coaches as follows. Steve Kerr as the No. 1 most overrated NBA head coach with 3,380 mentions, Doc Rivers as No. 2 with 1,780 mentions, Jason Kidd as No. 3 with 840 mentions, Tyronn Lue as No. 4 with 760 mentions, and JJ Redick with 660 mentions.
The Action Network used Brandwatch to analyze social listening data from X and Reddit and identify the most frequently mentioned “overrated” NBA head coaches of the 2024-25 NBA season. Posts published between October 1, 2024, and April 8, 2025, containing the term “overrated” were tracked with mentions grouped and ranked by head coach based on frequency. Data is accurate as of April 8, 2025.
Final Thoughts
Fox Sports host Kevin Wildes mocked Jason Kidd on Thursday’s episode of “First Things First” on FS1. Wildes, 47, scoffed at Kidd for calling it “kinda cool” that the Doncic trade is being compared to the “Curse of the Bambino,” a superstition that plagued the Boston Red Sox for 86 years following the Red Sox’s sale of Babe Ruth.
Wildes said, “Agree to disagree! It’s not cool at all … Quick baseball lesson, I don’t know if you’re a sports historian, Jason, that was largely considered the worst trade in sports history.” Wildes added, “You claim to be on a two-year window. Buddy, it’s an 86-year window.
“The Mavs won in 2011. You’re due for a championship in 2097. I’m not even joking; I’m not sure if human beings will be walking on Earth. So, no, the Luka trade being compared to Babe Ruth is not pretty cool. It’s not pretty cool at all. We’ll be living in vats of green Jell-o as robots take over the Earth before you win another championship, while the Lakers win dozens.”
Wildes’ mocking of Kidd might be a stretch. The Lakers are already one of the most powerful teams, as opposed to the then-lackluster New York Yankees team following the sale of Ruth. Hopefully, Kidd will take a different approach when discussing the Doncic trade next time. Kidd’s head coaching job is safe, but not if Kidd doesn’t maximize the Mavericks potential for immediate success like Nico Harrison said.
