Media Calling for Jim O’Brien’s Firing

The Pacers are 23 games below .500, and things look bleak. Naturally, the coach is under fire from local reporters: “Maybe Jim O’Brien is trying to get himself fired. Maybe he’s gone in the tank, just as his team has done for the past few months, and is willing to take the cash for next season and move on back to Florida. I’ve written it before, with a mild bit of hesitation. I’m writing it now, with no hesitation, with major emphasis, with boldfaced capital letters. O’BRIEN HAS GOT TO GO. We can all agree, this season was stillborn before it got past the first two weeks. Even in that home opener, they played with no energy, no passion, no clue. And it hasn’t gotten any better all season. Maybe that says more about this current group of players than it does about O’Brien, but you can’t fire the players. Ultimately, they’re not performing for this guy. They’ve checked out, zoned out, quit hearing his voice. If it was just a matter of losing, fine, but they’re losing badly, losing by double digits, getting outworked on a regular basis.”