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Larry Bird is as merciless a president as he was a player

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by Seth Rosenthal
Brian Spurlock-USA TODAY Sports

This is not about whether Frank Vogel deserved to be fired. There are valid cases to be made both for and against the Pacers' decision to let a winning coach go.

This is about Larry Bird, current Pacers GM and lifelong cockhole. As a player, Bird was arguably the most ruthless trash-talker ever, and one who backed up every word. As a team president, he's proven just as ruthless. The man who drove Roy Hibbert out of town with blunt public criticism and played an ugly game of chicken with David West was just as harsh in his handling of the Vogel ouster.

Bird let negotiations on Vogel's expiring contract hang in the days following Indiana's playoff exit, offering vague and foreboding public quotes while leaving Vogel himself uncertain perhaps right up through the morning of his dismissal. And when it came time to announce the move, Bird went places he didn't have to go:

You can watch the presser here and understand that Bird reeeeeally didn't have to tell everybody he got on the phone with Vogel and let him plead for a while before cutting him down. That is cold.

Now, there are some elements of context worth mentioning here. One is that Bird was equally forthright about how much it hurt to dismiss Vogel, insisting it was "one of the toughest things" he's ever done and lamenting his role in making Vogel uproot his family after a long tenure in Indiana. Bird's not a sadist, he just has zero fear of being uncouth, as long as it fits his principles.

That's where some other context comes in: As is summed up well here, Vogel wasn't exactly Bird's choice -- Donnie Walsh extended his contract while Bird was on leave -- and he was subject to picking and prodding throughout his coaching tenure. Bird has, for example, been critical of Vogel's leadership, via the Indy Star:

"I'm sort of going to Frank's side because he's had so much success by staying positive,'' Bird said. "We do have to stay the course. But I also think he's got to start going after guys when they're not doing what they're supposed to do. And stay on them, whether you've got to take them out of the game when they're not doing what they're supposed to do or limit their minutes. I will say, he hasn't done that enough."

And going back to the end of last season, Bird pushed Vogel to alter his offensive strategy. Increasingly, he's been a backseat driver -- and in public -- which is not incumbent on an executive (especially one whose roster didn't quite fit the style he prescribed, but that's a separate argument). It's not a good look to coach like that from the front office, but Larry Bird does not traffic in good looks.

The final piece of context here might be the one underlying all of this: 16 years ago, Larry Bird fired himself from coaching the Pacers. Bird holds an unusual theory that players tune coaches out after three seasons, something he addressed before taking the Indiana job in the first place:

And indeed, in 2000, Bird canned the coach after three seasons, even though that coach happened to deliver one of the best seasons in Pacers history and happened to be Larry Bird. So if anything, Vogel got more than his fair share of opportunity by Bird's rules.

That's Larry Bird. As a player, he'd tell you how he was going to beat you, then beat you. As a coach, he'd make a promise to quit, then keep that promise in spite of himself. As a manager of players, he'll shit-talk you, then send you packing. As a president, he'll second-guess you repeatedly, then let your contract fizzle. And he'll let everyone know you begged to stay, because ... well, you did, didn't you?

Larry Bird does not mince words, he serves them whole. He has no stomach for discretion or decorum. What Larry Bird does have are principles, to the point that you wonder if that's a good thing.

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