New Orleans’ Hornets nest: The firing of Byron Scott

What makes a successful head coach? Or perhaps a better question is… what makes a once successful head coach suddenly forget how to coach?

Last week, the New Orleans Hornets announced that the services of their head coach and former NBA coach of the year, Byron Scott, would no longer be needed. The Hornets had gotten off to a less than satisfactory 3-6 start and someone had to be held accountable. It certainly couldn’t be ownership.

Scott has since been replaced by Jeff Bower, the team’s general manager. Tim Floyd, who coached the Hornets to a 41-41 record in 2003-4, has also been added back to the staff.

The Bower-Floyd combo hasn’t fared much better since taking over for Scott. In their home debut, the Hornets lost to Portland by 12. In that game, they lost their superstar Chris Paul for two-four weeks with a sprained ankle. In their first Paul-less game of the season, the Hornets lost to the Atlanta Hawks by 23.

This article appears in Nov 11-17, 2009.