Pelicans Fire Head Coach Willie Green After 5 Seasons & 2-10 Start
The New Orleans Pelicans have fired “head coach” Willie Green. After a disastrous 2-10 start to the 2025-26 season, the organization decided it had seen enough. Nobody should be surprised in this. The team wasn’t just losing; they were getting embarrassed, setting an NBA record with three 30-point losses in their first six games.
Statement From Pelicans
Associate head coach James Borrego, who the Pelicans zealously guarded from the New York Knicks over the summer, now steps into the interim role. Good luck, buddy. You’re going to need it.
Executive Vice President of Basketball Operations, Joe Dumars, released the statement: “After careful evaluation, we have made the difficult decision to make a change at head coach.” He showered Green with the usual praise, wishing him and his family the best. It’s the corporate equivalent of “it’s not you, it’s me,” but everyone knows it was definitely you.
What Went Wrong for Willie Green?
Let’s be real: pinning this whole mess on Willie Green is idiotic. The iceberg of roster issues and perpetual injuries was the real culprit. Willie Green’s tenure in New Orleans started with a glimmer of hope. Hired in 2021, he was supposed to be the guy to counsel the promising yet fragile talents of Zion Williamson and Brandon Ingram into a legitimate force.
For a fleeting moment, it looked like it might actually work. Remember that stretch between December 2023 and March 2024? When the stars (literally) aligned and the starting lineup was mostly healthy? The Pelicans played like a team possessed, going 31-16 and looking like a genuine threat in the West. It was a beautiful, brief dream.
Then, reality hit. Ingram got hurt. Then Williamson either got hurt, had to deal with that trainwreck he dated, or had weight issues. The Pelicans got swept by the Thunder, limped through an injury-plagued 21-61 season, and the front office started cleaning house.
The Problem is Deeper than Coaching
So, the Pelicans fired their head coach in Willie Green, so what? This is a player-driven league where coaching does not matter. You can legit put a middle school counselor in that role and nothing changes.
The Pelicans have been a franchise of “what ifs” since they landed in New Orleans. They’ve drafted three generational talents—Chris Paul, Anthony Davis, and Zion Williamson—and have a measly two playoff series wins to show for it. That’s not just bad luck; that’s a systemic failure.
The current roster is a puzzle with pieces that just don’t fit. You have Zion’s declining production, a severe lack of shooting & depth, and a truckload of money tied up in Dejounte Murray, who is, you guessed it, currently injured.
Perhaps the final nail in Green’s coffin was his bizarre reluctance to play rookie Derik Queen until Zion got hurt. But hey at least that 2026 draft pick will be high with how bad the Pelicans are. Oh wait, that’s the pick is Atlanta Hawks property thanks to the trade up to take Derik Queen and its unprotected too.
It’s clear Willie Green is the Scapegoat
So, here we are. Willie Green is the scapegoat, and James Borrego is tasked with the impossible job of being the “head coach” of this team. It’s a classic NBA tale: when in doubt, fire the coach. It’s the easiest move, the one that makes it look like you’re doing something.
But let’s not kid ourselves. A new coach isn’t going to magically heal this roster or cure the bad juju that seems to hang over this franchise. The Pelicans are broken, and it’s going to take a lot more than a new counselor on the sidelines to fix them.
