Clippers' President Gives Mike Dunleavy a Vote of Confidence

With a few coaches losing their jobs so early in the season, it doesn't take much for the press to start wondering (or rumoring) that the man in charge of the woeful team in their town might be on his way out. Since the Clippers are off to a fairly dismal 4-17 start, it's officially Mike Dunleavy's turn on the hot seat.

After last night's loss to the Magic (which was another in a series of games where the team blew a fourth-quarter lead and a chance to win), the vultures began circling. Dunleavy himself was asked about his status, and gave this response:

"I don't think that's the case," Dunleavy said of the possibility of his being fired. "I think we're headed in the right direction. I think we've got a good group. We haven't had our whole group together all season, or in the preseason."

This was pretty much affirmed by Clippers' President Andy Roeser, who used a nice/predictable cliche to sum up the situation in a fairly similar manner. Technically though, he didn't say that Dunleavy was untouchable.

"It's always darkest before the dawn," Roeser said after the loss on Monday night. "We like our players and as hard as it is to say, we just need to be a little patient until it all comes together." I didn't hear "we like our coach and our general manager," but I suppose this still counts as an affirmation.

While this might sound to some as the "dreaded vote of confidence," I think Roeser is telling the truth here. Dunleavy has a point when he says the team hasn't been at full strength, and they still haven't had a chance to test out Zach Randolph with Chris Kaman, as Kaman has been out (and is expected to miss more time) with a foot injury.

Teams fire their head coach when it's become evident that they've stopped competing; just ask Sam Mitchell or Randy Wittman. Even though the Clippers have struggled to close out teams in the fourth quarter -- which could be viewed as a sign of poor coaching -- at least they've had leads or for the most part been competitive in games up to that point. As long as the Clips continue to compete, Dunleavy's not going anywhere.