Suns Speak on Frank Vogel's Future

What did the Suns' top decision makers have to say about the head coach?

Apr 23, 2024; Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA; Phoenix Suns head coach Frank Vogel gets called for a / Brad Rempel-USA TODAY Sports

PHOENIX -- The Phoenix Suns and their 2023-24 season that began with astronomical expectations has set.

That didn't stop team governor Mat Ishbia and general manager James Jones from talking to the media this afternoon - where both took a number of quite-pointed questionnaire from reporters.

Ishbia began the presser by stating that he believes the Suns "aren't in a good spot, but a great one," while also hammering down his commitment to maintaining a yearly winner and the committment to keeping Devin Booker in Phoenix for the rest of his career.

The question that was most anticipated was the job security status of head coach Frank Vogel, which has been in question going back as far as December but recently flared over the last two weeks.

Ishbia deflected the question as expected, but there is clearly not a firm decision one way or the other - the door is being left open for a dismissal in the coming days/weeks as he told reporters he has not discussed the futures of any prominent member of the organization just yet.

"I think Frank Vogel did a lot of great things," Ishbia said before posturing the question elsewhere.

Jones echoed many of Ishbia's sentiments during his portion of the presser, but also did add a conjecture that Vogel did a "tremendous job" at the helm in his first season with the franchise, giving a more positive assessment of the former championship-winning coach than the team steward.

One thing is certain - no firm decisions have been made about the direction of the franchise this summer other than the confirmed return of the entire starting five from this season - and change could very well be coming in droves otherwise.

The lack of strong backing of Vogel from Ishbia could mean two things - either Ishbia has already began leaning towards scouring the coaching market over the next several weeks in an attempt to find an upgrade, or Ishbia will have a true sit-down talk with Vogel to hear out his pitch/vision for next season's team - which would almost certainly have to include bringing on a new "offensive coordinator" to replace the departing Kevin Young.

My personal feeling is that Vogel will get fired - justly or not - but expect a potential announcement to be held off in an effort to see how the L.A. Clippers-Dallas Mavericks series unfolds (Clippers' coach Tyronn Lue has been a top target of Ishbia's going back to last summer).

One thing is a certainty in what appears to be an off-season of uncertainty - the Suns will not run it back in the exact same fashion that failed spectacularly this season.