Where Bucks’ Adrian Griffin Ranks Among Shortest Coaching Tenures in NBA History

Adrian Griffin’s 43-game stint with the Bucks was one of the shortest head-coaching tenures in league history.

The Milwaukee Bucks stunningly dismissed coach Adrian Griffin on Tuesday, despite the team sitting in second place in the Eastern Conference with a 30–13 record.

Milwaukee is reportedly mulling the experienced Doc Rivers as a replacement for Griffin, who departs the organization just 43 games into his first season as coach. The 49-year-old spent just seven months as the Bucks’ coach, having been hired in June 2023 in what was one of the shortest head coaching tenures in NBA history.

In fact, only three NBA coaches, excluding interim coaches, have had as short or shorter stints with a team than Griffin did with the Bucks. Griffin’s 43 games are tied for the third-shortest coaching tenure in league history.

With that in mind, we’ll take a look at the five shortest coaching stints in NBA history:

5. Gar Heard, Washington Wizards – 44 Games

Gar Heard signed a three-year contract to be the Washington Wizards’ coach in June 1999, but he was quickly dismissed seven months later after Michael Jordan took the reins as the team’s president of basketball operations in January. Washington had a 14–30 record at the time, and within two weeks of Jordan entering the front office, the organization moved on from Heard. 

The 44-game spell in D.C. was Heard’s one and only full-time head coaching stint in the NBA, though he’d previously served as the interim coach of the Dallas Mavericks in 1992–93. 

T-3. Rudy Tomjanovich, Los Angeles Lakers – 43 Games

Rudy Tomjanovich took over as coach of the Los Angeles Lakers in 2004 following the departure of Phil Jackson. Tomjanovich had been dealing with health issues prior to landing the gig in Los Angeles, which played a role in his departure 43 games later. He resigned from his role with the team midway through the season, citing mental and physical health related reasons. 

T-3. Adrian Griffin, Milwaukee Bucks – 43 Games

Griffin’s run with the Bucks was short-lived, as the team dismissed him Tuesday despite owning the NBA’s second-best record. It was Griffin’s first stint as an NBA head coach, and it seems the franchise is looking for a more experienced leader to take the reins and help the team contend for a title this year.

2. Bob Weiss, Seattle SuperSonics – 30 Games

Bob Weiss stepped into the SuperSonics’ coaching role back ahead of the 2005–06 season, but after a slow start to the campaign he was replaced by Bob Hill. 

Despite featuring star talents such as Ray Allen and Rashard Lewis, Seattle had a 13–17 record through 30 games, a far cry from the 52-win team from the previous season. The SuperSonics went on to miss the playoffs, ending the season with a 35–47 record.

After his brief coaching tenure, Weiss moved into an advisory role with the franchise.

1. Jerry Tarkanian, San Antonio Spurs – 20 Games

Five years before Gregg Popovich took over as the San Antonio Spurs’ coach and became the pinnacle of stability in the NBA, the franchise was like any other, seeking out the right man for the job. 

Jerry Tarkanian took the reins in 1992, but he didn’t even last until the end of that calendar year. The former UNLV boss struggled to win over the locker room and even admitted that he’d began taking medicine for high blood pressure amid the stress of being an NBA coach. Twenty games into his tenure, the Spurs dismissed Tarkanian, who had a 9–11 record during his brief stint with the organization.