Lakers fire title-winning head coach Frank Vogel after 3 seasons

The Los Angeles Lakers fired Frank Vogel on Monday, choosing their championship-winning head coach to take the first fall for one of the most disappointing seasons in NBA history.

Los Angeles wildly underachieved this season, finishing 33-49 and missing the 10-team Western Conference playoffs in a humiliating conclusion to a year that began with LeBron James, Anthony Davis, Russell Westbrook, Carmelo Anthony and a veteran-laden supporting cast widely expected to contend for another championship.

Vogel was fired exactly 18 months after he led the Lakers to the franchise's 17th title in his first season in charge. Almost nothing has gone right in the ensuing two seasons for the rosters assembled by general manager Rob Pelinka and coached by Vogel, who went 127-98 in his three seasons running the club. He was under contract through next season.

"Frank is a great coach and a good man," Pelinka said in a statement. "We will forever be grateful to him for his work in guiding us to the 2019-20 NBA championship. This is an incredibly difficult decision to make, but one we feel is necessary at this point."

Thank you, Coach. <a href="https://t.co/8eb4Ia9ZqI">pic.twitter.com/8eb4Ia9ZqI</a>

ESPN reported Vogel's imminent firing immediately after the Lakers finished the season by beating Denver in overtime Sunday night. During an awkward post-game news conference, Vogel admitted he had not yet been told of the club's decision before it was leaked to ESPN.

It was a dismal, embarrassing end to a tenure that began tremendously for Vogel, the former coach at Orlando and Indiana. The Lakers claimed a title in the Florida bubble in October 2020, but didn't win another playoff round in the next two seasons.

Despite another impressive season