Wildwood high graduate Frank Vogel‘s contract expired and president of basketball operations Larry Bird decided against re-signing him.

"It's unfortunate," said Chris Mannix of NBC Sports on the Sports Bash when asked about Frank Vogel.  "I think he's done a fantastic job with that team over the last few years beginning with the job he did turning them around with the job he did taking over for Jim O'Brian and developing them into a two-time Eastern Conference finalist"

The Pacers went 250-181 under Vogel during his six years, after getting elevated to the head coaching position in January of 2011, when the Pacers fired Jim O’Brien. Indiana made back-to-back conference finals under Vogel’s watch in 2013 and 2014, losing both times to the Miami Heat.

This year's team lost in game 7 of the first round to Toronto.

"I dont see how the Indiana Pacers could have been much better this year than they were with anyone other than Frank Vogel at the helm," Mannix stated. "The future is bright for Frank Vogel."

"I think this team without Vogel probably doesn’t compete with the Toronto Raptors the way that they did," Managing Editor of Basketball Insiders Alex Kennedy told me on Thursday's Sports Bash. "So I was surprised they made the change, I don’t that’s necessarily the right move.”

Its seems like a lot of people around the NBA were surprised about the move, so was it a good move?  Obviously, like every answer in sports, time will tell.

One thing is for sure Larry Legend needs to be held accountable for a move like this. Vogel got a Pacers team into the playoffs, and took the No. 2 seed seven games, that Bird himself said only had two really good players.

Seems that if Larry Bird wants to the Pacers to get deep into the playoffs, he needs to find better players for the next coach - instead he make Vogel the scapegoat. From the outside looking in to the Indiana situation and talking to people around the NBA, Vogel did well in spite of Pacers management - he was seemingly never Bird's guy.

You could kind of see that during Bird's press conference, Bird admitted that he let Vogel walk over the phone, and that Vogel "begged" for his job back  - but that he had made his mind up at the all-star break, but doesn't believe in letting coaches go in season.

Bird might have been an all-time great player - but he is a lousy communicator and this sure looks bad. In the end, he felt the team needed a new style of play, a new direction and a new voice - so we'll keep an eye on who he hires, but the next guy better be very good.

Frank Vogel was not only a good coach, but a great man off-the-court and in the community of Indianapolis.

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