Breaking News: Indiana Pacers Fire Head Coach Jim O’Brien

It has finally happened.

After all of the talk and pleading amongst fans and writers in the media, the Indiana Pacers have fired head coach Jim O’Brien.

O’Brien’s firing comes after the Pacers lost seven of their past eight games to drop to 10th place in the Eastern Conference. He was ejected with just under four minutes left in last night’s game in Chicago, where the Pacers fell to the Bulls, 110-89.

The Pacers entered the fourth quarter trailing by just six points, but Jim decided not to put Josh McRoberts (who was having a career scoring night) in the game. He put Jeff Foster in instead, and the Pacers were outscored 33-17 in the final quarter.

Perhaps it was the last straw, or maybe this had been planned for a couple of weeks. Regardless, the Pacers have now cut ties with the coach that many believe was one of the main reasons for the disappointing season they have had so far this year.

Assistant Frank Vogel is expected to coach the team for the remainder of the season. They have called a press conference for 4 p.m. today.

The Pacers have a home game tomorrow night against the Toronto Raptors.