Rick Carlisle on His Way Out This Summer?

Throughout his tenure with the Indiana Pacers, Rick Carlisle has had to deal with adversity. Perhaps more adversity than any other coach in the league. One of his best players, Ron Artest, was suspended for a full season for charging into the stands and brawling with Detroit fans. When he was finally traded, Carlisle was given a rental-player in Peja Stojakovic.

After one tough season after another, Rick Carlisle's reign as head coach of the Indiana Pacers may finally be over. Carlisle is a defensive-minded coach who calls next-to-every play on the offensive end of the ball. His teams are known for having a tough mindset and being, generally, offensively inept. After the Indiana Pacers finished their facelift by acquiring soft players such as Mike Dunleavy and Troy Murphy, they no longer have the personnel to win playing this sort of game.

Going further, however, the Pacers still have to be disappointed about their performance in the 2004 playoffs. Going in with the best record in the league, 61-21, the team was beaten soundly in six games by the Detroit Pistons. The same was true for Carlisle when he was the head coach of the Pistons. Despite having the best record in his conference, Rick could not lead the team to the Finals.

Indeed it may be Carlisle's inability to make in-game adjustments that ultimately lose him his job. In Detroit, it took a three games to one deficit against a eight seed for Carlisle to remove the unbelievably useless Michael Curry from the starting lineup. The player he had buried on the bench? Tayshaun Prince from Kentucky. Simply put, Rick Carlisle has never responded well to games not going exactly to his plan. It is the reason he is always out-coached in the playoffs.

All that aside, Carlisle's job still seemed secure before this season. Larry Bird was both a former teammate and a friend of his. After another failure of a season, the Indiana Pacers are currently fighting for the eight seed in the East, however, Carlisle may be on the way out. And in a league that is beginning to return to wide-open offense, he may find himself out of luck when looking for another head coaching gig.

Indiana has been rebuilding itself to get rid of the bad public perception that plagued them since late-2004. And in a few weeks, Carlisle may find himself the latest casualty of a bad situation. As much as Bird may hate to make the move, Carlisle and the Pacers just has not worked. He is a good coach, but his inability to take the next step and match wits with the games best should be his undoing.