Erik Spoelstra quietly made history last week. He didn't see a reason for celebration.
Spoelstra is in his 17th season as coach of the Miami Heat, which is the third-longest uninterrupted tenure by one coach with one team in NBA history. Gregg Popovich is in his 29th year with San Antonio, and Jerry Sloan had a 23-year run in Utah.
For most coaches in today's NBA, the idea of such a run may seem impossible.
Half of the league's coaches — 15 of the 30 — are entering no more than their third year in their current job. There have been eight coaching changes in 2024 so far alone, and there's still two more months for an owner or general manager to decide to add to that list.
“That’s a sobering reality of this profession," Spoelstra said. "It bums me out when I hear that stat because there are a lot of really talented coaches that if they had the same type of structure and continuity and belief from (their teams) ... there could be a lot more coaches able to do what I’m able to do here.”
It's no secret that the term “job security” doesn't mean much in coaching, especially now.
The WNBA — coming off one of its most successful years ever in terms of attendance and attention — had 12 teams this season; seven of those teams currently do not have coaches. The Dallas Wings are about to hire their fourth coach in seven seasons. The Atlanta Dream made the playoffs; they let Tanisha Wright go anyway. The Indiana Fever, with Caitlin Clark coming off her record-setting rookie year, fired Christie Sides over the weekend after a 1-8 start was turned around into a playoff berth. And on Monday, the Connecticut Sun and coach Stephanie White parted ways after back-to-back trips to the WNBA semifinals.
The WNBA isn't trying to emulate the NBA's coaching carousel, but here we are.
“Leave it better than you found it,” Sides posted on social media after the Fever let her go.
The NBA still might be the gold standard when it comes to impatience with coaches, though. This past offseason saw some moves that, on paper, looked wild.
The Los Angeles Lakers hired JJ Redick away from ESPN; Redick's only previous coaching job was leading fourth graders earlier this year. Phoenix parted with NBA champion Frank Vogel and replaced him with NBA champion Mike Budenholzer (whose ring came at the Suns' expense in 2021). JB Bickerstaff became the first coach to take a Cleveland Cavaliers team that didn't have LeBron James to the second round in more than 30 years and he, too, got fired.
Bickerstaff ended up with Detroit. The Pistons had fired Monty Williams after one season — with five years and something like $65 million left on his contract. Williams now will coach his sons at a high school in San Antonio.
“You just keep doing the job you're supposed to do,” Bickerstaff said.
He could have added “for as long as you have it,” because in the NBA, who knows what'll happen next.
Popovich fired Bob Hill as coach of the Spurs 18 games into the 1996-97 season and named himself coach. Tim Duncan arrived and changed the franchise's fortunes a year later, but in this NBA era Popovich's record in the completion of that first season — 17-47 — probably wouldn't have given him a chance to keep the job.
The move, obviously, paid off. Popovich has more wins than anyone in NBA history. And, when counting moves involving interim coaches, the next coaching change in the league will be the 300th since Popovich began coaching the Spurs.
There have been 183 different coaches in the league since Popovich started, not including himself. Of those, 78 have coached multiple franchises in that span — Alvin Gentry, Larry Brown, Mike D'Antoni and Doc Rivers have coached in five different places over those years, and another nine coaches having worked for four different franchises in that time.
“You’re always striving to be the best that you can be," said New Orleans coach Willie Green, who is entering Year 4 with the Pelicans and has been in his job longer than half the other coaches in the league have had their current gigs. "But you take these jobs, understanding that they don’t have a long shelf life.”
Popovich isn't getting fired. Spoelstra is in Year 1 of an eight-year deal. Golden State's Steve Kerr will decide when it'll be his time to leave the Warriors. Joe Mazzulla surely has earned tons of security after leading Boston to an NBA title. Mark Daigneault has done an amazing job in building Oklahoma City. There are others who would surely be safe in their current job if things turn south, but probably not many.
“There's been 14 jobs open just in the last two years alone,” said Spoelstra, part of a group in Miami — including team president Pat Riley — that is entering 30 years with the Heat. “In that regard, I think it's really a sad state for coaching. Coaching staffs aren't given enough of a time period to be able to develop a culture, develop the right habits, to go through the necessary adversity to get to that next level. I'm grateful we have that structure and stability here.”
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FILE - Washington Mystics head coach Mike Thibault, right, sits with his son assistant coach Eric Thibault, left, during the first half of a WNBA basketball game, June 14, 2016, in Uncasville, Conn. (AP Photo/Jessica Hill, File)
FILE - Indiana Fever head coach Christie Sides reacts during Game 2 of a first-round WNBA basketball playoff series against the Connecticut Sun, Sept. 25, 2024, in Uncasville, Conn. (AP Photo/Jessica Hill, file)
Miami Heat head coach Erik Spoelstra, left, chats with team president Pat Riley as they watch players practice for Game 2 of the NBA Finals, June 3, 2023, in Denver. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski, file)
SEATTLE (AP) — Unionized factory workers at Boeing were voting Monday whether to accept a contract offer or to extend their strike, which has lasted more than seven weeks and shut down production of most Boeing passenger planes.
A vote to ratify the contract on the eve of Election Day would clear the way for a major U.S. manufacturer and government contractor to resume airplane production. If members of the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers vote for a third time to reject Boeing's offer, it would plunge the aerospace giant into further financial peril and uncertainty.
In its latest proposed contract, Boeing is offering pay raises of 38% over four years plus ratification and productivity bonuses. IAM District 751, which represents Boeing workers in the Pacific Northwest, endorsed the proposal, which is slightly more generous than one the machinists voted down nearly two weeks ago.
Union officials said they achieved all they could though bargaining and the strike, and that if the current proposal is rejected, future offers from Boeing might be worse. They expect to announce the result of the vote late Monday.
Boeing says average annual pay for machinists is $75,608 and would rise to $119,309 in four years under the current offer.
Pensions were a key issue for workers who rejected the company's previous offers in September and October. In its new offer, Boeing did not meet their demand to restore a pension plan that was frozen nearly a decade ago.
If machinists ratify the contract now on the table, they would return to work by Nov. 12, according to the union.
The workers got their last paychecks in mid-September, a few days after the strike started, and are likely facing more pressure on their personal financial well-being.
Bernadeth Jimenez, who has worked in quality assurance at the Boeing plant in Everett, Washington, since 2022, said she voted “yes” on Monday after voting against previous company offers. She was satisfied with the proposed wage increases, and said she never expected a pension anyway — she's putting money her 401(k) plan.
“This (offer) is good, and I really want to go back to work,” she said. “This time we're ready.”
Theresa Pound isn't ready. The 16-year company veteran said she voted “no” just as she did on the two earlier offers that went to a vote.
“Adding 3% (to the previous offer) doesn’t change anything for my future. It still doesn’t solidify that when I retire I’m going to have a comfortable living, and that’s the bottom line," she said. “Instant gratification is not going to save me.”
Both Jimenez and Pound have husbands who also work at Boeing, and both couples anticipated the strike and worked overtime before it started. Still, money is getting tight.
“We're making it by the best we can," Pound said. "We're going to run out soon, but it’s not going to be a stopping point for me to say, ‘Well, I’m out of money. I need to go back.’ I’m going to find other ways to make it work.”
The strike began Sept. 13 with an overwhelming 94.6% rejection of Boeing's offer to raise pay by 25% over four years — far less than the union’s original demand for 40% wage increases over three years.
Machinists voted down another offer — 35% raises over four years, and still no revival of pensions — on Oct. 23, the same day that Boeing reported a third-quarter loss of more than $6 billion. However, the offer received 36% support, up from 5% for the mid-September proposal, making Boeing leaders believe they were close to a deal.
The contract rejections reflected bitterness that built up after union concessions and small pay increases over the past decade.
The new proposal that Boeing made last week offered slightly larger pay increases plus a $12,000 contract-ratification bonus, up from $7,000 in the previous offer, and larger company contributions to employees’ 401(k) retirement accounts.
Boeing also promises to build its next airline plane in the Seattle area. Union officials fear the company might withdraw the pledge if workers reject the new offer.
The strike drew the attention of the Biden administration. Acting Labor Secretary Julie Su intervened in the talks several times, including last week.
The labor standoff — the first strike by Boeing machinists since an eight-week walkout in 2008 — is the latest setback in a volatile year for the company.
Boeing came under several federal investigations after a door plug blew off a 737 Max plane during an Alaska Airlines flight in January. Federal regulators put limits on Boeing airplane production that they said would last until they felt confident about manufacturing safety at the company.
The door-plug incident renewed concerns about the safety of the 737 Max. Two of the plane's crashed less than five months apart in 2018 and 2019, killing 346 people. The CEO whose effort to fix the company failed announced in March that he would step down. In July, Boeing agreed to plead guilty to conspiracy to commit fraud for deceiving regulators who approved the 737 Max.
As the strike dragged on, new CEO Kelly Ortberg announced about 17,000 layoffs and a stock sale to prevent the company’s credit rating from being cut to junk status. S&P and Fitch Ratings said last week that the $24.3 billion in stock and other securities will cover upcoming debt payments and reduce the risk of a credit downgrade.
The strike has created a cash crunch by depriving Boeing of money it gets when delivering new planes to airlines. The walkout at Seattle-area factories stopped production of the 737 Max, Boeing’s best-selling plane, and the 777, or “triple-seven,” jet and the cargo-carrying version of its 767 plane.
Ortberg has conceded that trust in Boeing has declined, the company has too much debt, and “serious lapses in our performance” have disappointed many airline customers. But, he says, the company’s strengths include a backlog of airplane orders valued at a half-trillion dollars.
Koenig reported from Dallas.
From left, Boeing employees Vance Meyring, Josue Ramirez and Joseph Mellon work the picket line after union members voted to reject a new contract offer from the company, Wednesday, Oct. 23, 2024, outside Boeing facilities in Renton, Wash. (AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson)
A picket sign sits outside the Angel of the Winds Arena as striking Boeing employees gather to cast their votes, Wednesday, Oct. 23, 2024, in Everett, Wash. (AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson)
A worker holds a sign as Boeing employees vote on a new contract offer from the company, Wednesday, Oct. 23, 2024, at a voting location in the Angel of the Winds Arena in Everett, Wash. (AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson)
Boeing employees on strike arrive to vote on a new contract offer from the company Wednesday, Oct. 23, 2024, at the Aerospace Machinists Union hall in Renton, Wash. (AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson)
A Boeing employee walks by a sign carved out of wood while arriving to vote on a new contract offer from the company, Wednesday, Oct. 23, 2024, at Seattle Union Hall in Seattle. (AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson)
Boeing employees on strike arrive to vote on a new contract offer from the company, Wednesday, Oct. 23, 2024, at the Aerospace Machinists Union hall in Renton, Wash. (AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson)
A volunteer holds a vote to accept a new contract offer from Boeing, Wednesday, Oct. 23, 2024, at Seattle Union Hall in Seattle. (AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson)
A Boeing employee looks at informational pamphlets before heading in to vote on a new contract offer from the company, Wednesday, Oct. 23, 2024, at the Aerospace Machinists Union hall in Renton, Wash. (AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson)
