When the Cleveland Cavaliers fired head coach David Blatt in late January, Brad Stevens summed up the tenuous nature of NBA coaching by noting, "It’s probably not the most secure profession to choose."
Still six months shy of his 40th birthday and having just completed his third season with the Boston Celtics, Stevens is now tied for the sixth-longest tenure as an NBA coach after the Indiana Pacers elected this week not to bring back Frank Vogel.
The only coaches with more time with their current team than Stevens are San Antonio's Gregg Popovich (20 seasons), Dallas' Rick Carlisle (8), Miami's Eric Spoelstra (8), Toronto's Dwane Casey (5) and Portland's Terry Stotts (4). Stevens is in a cluster of third-year coaches with Atlanta's Mike Budenholzer, Charlotte's Steve Clifford, the Los Angeles Clippers' Doc Rivers, Memphis' Dave Joerger and Philadelphia's Brett Brown.
Told about being tied for the sixth-longest tenure during an appearance on SiriusXM NBA Radio on Friday, Stevens said, "That’s a little bit crazy," but used it as an opportunity to stress how fortunate he feels to be with an organization like the Celtics.
"I will say this: Just doing the research before coming here and taking this job, I’m so fortunate to be here and so fortunate to be a head coach here because there’s obviously a lot of movement, but this is a great place to work and these are great people to work for," Stevens told the "Off the Dribble" program. "I have felt empowered every single day I’ve been here. That means that you feel like you made a great decision and I’m very fortunate."
Stevens, who became friendly with Vogel when the two worked and lived near each other in Indianapolis, has often gushed about the former Pacers coach, particularly the way that Vogel allowed Stevens to quiz him in the immediate aftermath of being hired by the Celtics. Stevens recalled bombarding Vogel with questions after arriving at Orlando summer league shortly after being hired by the Celtics in July 2013.
Asked about Vogel's dismissal in Indy, Stevens had nothing but praise for Vogel.
"I think Frank’s great," said Stevens. "I’ve always said that everybody has to make their own decisions for their organization, but what’s very clear, not only being around him and being a friend of his, but also coaching against him and competing against him is he’s one of the best. Everything will work out great for him because of the way that, not only his knowledge and his ability to coach, but just the kind of person he is. He is such a down-to-earth, regular guy and fun to be around.
"[Vogel is] not a guy that asks for a lot of attention. Guys think the world of him. I’m also really skewed toward him because, part of the time we spent together when I was [coaching at nearby Butler University] in Indianapolis, when we lived a couple miles away was, we used to go to the same park. So, like, we used to go and our kids would play on the same swing sets. I know him not only as a coach, but as a dad and a person. He’s exceptional. Things will work out well for him. It’s unfortunate that that’s the way it ended in Indy, but he did a great job in his six years there."
Stevens seemingly doesn't have to worry much about his own job security. Celtics fans are already antsy about a contract extension, even though he's only at the midpoint of his current deal. What's more, Boston president of basketball operations Danny Ainge continues to gush about his coach at every opportunity.
"I love Brad," Ainge said at his end-of-season news conference on Wednesday. "You guys know how much I support him and enjoy being around him. He’s been great for our franchise. I think he has a chance to be one of the best coaches ever if he decides to be an NBA coach for the rest of his life. I’m a big big fan. I think he’s continuing to learn the game and learn the players and we’re very very fortunate to have him as our coach."
For his part, Stevens has said repeatedly that he will be around in Boston for as long as the team wants him here -- even if Celtics fans tend to worry that he'll be lured away by a big-time college opening (and the fact that there's an opening with Stevens' childhood favorite Pacers is enough to induce sweaty palms for some Celtics supporters).
Stevens has made it clear his only goal at the moment is trying to hang another banner in Boston. And while he's enjoyed the progress that his team has made in recent seasons, he knows just getting to the playoffs isn't good enough here.
"This is the way that I approach every day: I’m really a process guy, and a day-to-day guy. I truly believe, especially because I’m coaching the Boston Celtics, there’s only one goal," Stevens said. "That goal never changes. Now, you want to get there sooner rather than later; you don’t want early exits in the playoffs. But there’s 17 banners in our practice facility, so there’s no other reasonable goal around here."