P.J. Carlesimo's Thunder were off to a dismal 1-12 start when Clay Bennett put Latrell Sprewell's nemesis out of his misery over the weekend, while Eddie Jordan's Wizards were a miserable 1-10 when Abe Pollin pulled the plug Monday morning.
And just like that, two bright, well-regarded NBA coaches joined our country's ever-expanding unemployment line.
It's almost impossible to get basketball people to criticize either Carlesimo or Jordan. Heck, even the teams that fired them had trouble saying anything bad about the vanquished.
"This was a very difficult decision to make," Thunder executive vice president and general manager Sam Presti said of Carlesimo after announcing the change. "I am very appreciative of the hard work and effort that P.J. gave to this team and we wish him the best in his future endeavors."
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"This was an extremely difficult decision because I'm personally very fond of Eddie," Pollin said. "He helped bring our franchise back to the playoffs and became engrained in the Washington, DC community. I will forever be grateful for his dedication and hard work."
So where did it go wrong?...
Both coaches were simply the victim of circumstance.
Carlesimo was a red-hot property when he sat next to Gregg Popovich on the bench in San Antonio, but made a serious mistake by taking over a rebuilding team looking to flee Seattle for Oklahoma City.
It wasn't a problem to tank in the Emerald City last year since Bennett wanted to pack up for Oklahoma anyway. Apathy was actually the owner's friend in the Pacific Northwest.
Improvement, even slight improvement, was necessary for Carlesimo this season but the veteran coach just didn't have the horses to put on the floor alongside Kevin Durant, a brilliant scorer that doesn't have an NBA body and offers little on the boards or at the defensive end.
Jordan, who was the longest-tenured coach in the Eastern Conference and guided his club to the playoffs each of the past four seasons -- the longest consecutive stretch for the franchise since a five-year run in the mid-80s, went to war this year without two significant weapons in All-Star guard Gilbert Arenas and center Brendan Hayward.
Red Auerbach couldn't have succeeded with what Carlesimo and Jordan had to work with.
Scott Brooks, a former journeyman guard, has taken over for Carlesimo on an interim basis in Oklahoma City, while Ed Tapscott, the Wizards director of player development whose only experience as a head coach came on the collegiate level with American University, is handling things in the nation's capital.
Neither is likely to remind you of Auerbach any time soon. In fact, neither is likely to remind you of Chris Ford.
That said, Carlesimo wasn't the problem in Oklahoma City and Jordan wasn't the issue in the District. Brooks and Tapscott won't be either.
In fact, both first-timers may perform admirably, but bad organizations are usually bad for a reason and it starts at the top.
Brooks and Tapscott are about to find that out.
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