The Detroit Pistons’ coaching history is all over the place.
Since the great Chuck Daly retired, the Pistons have had 15 different head coaches, most of whom were unmitigated disasters.
This was especially true during the Joe Dumars era, as he pretty much went through a new head coach every season and had a string of failures we’d probably rather forget.
Michael Curry, John Kuester, Lawrence Frank, Maurice Cheeks, John Loyer and Stan Van Gundy all had losing records and none of them lasted very long, which is one of the many reasons the Pistons stunk during that era.
I think it’s safe to say that two-time champion Chuck Daly is the best coach the Detroit Pistons ever had, but they have had other high-quality guys sprinkled in since he left.
Here are the top five coaches the Pistons have had since Chuck Daly.
Detroit Pistons top head coaches #5: Dwane Casey
Dwane Casey has coached 220 games for Pistons and has a 81-136 record, which is good for a .368 winning percentage so you might be wondering why he is on this list.
Dwane Casey was hired by the Detroit Pistons to help re-establish their culture and bring some stability back to the bench.
Even though Casey hasn’t won much, he has accomplished those goals, and has proven himself to be one of the best teachers in the NBA, as just about every young Piston has improved under his guidance.
I am sure coach Casey is not happy with his record and would like to start piling some wins into his total, but you can hardly blame him for the losses with the mess he was handed, culminating in last season when the Pistons were actively trying to tank.
Even though Detroit has been bad, they’ve always played hard and improved under Casey, which is more than I can say for any of the other guys listed above.
Detroit Pistons top head coaches #4: Doug Collins
Doug Collins was the Pistons head coach from 1995-1998, coaching a total of 208 games and posting a record of 121-88 for a .579 winning percentage.
Collins was always known as a coach who could get a team to the verge of being good, which is why he was hired by the Pistons after being with Michael Jordan and the Bulls previously.
Collins did a great job with Grant Hill and finally got the Pistons over the hump against the hated Bulls after they had lost 19 in-a-row to their rivals.
Just like in Chicago, Doug Collins ended up fired even though he made his teams better, which tells me he probably wasn’t the easiest guy to work with.
Detroit Pistons top head coaches #3: Rick Carlisle
I always thought Rick Carlisle got the short end of the stick with the Detroit Pistons after going 100-64 for a .610 wining percentage with the team and winning Coach of the Year.
It was determined that he wasn’t a “championship” coach, which he proved wrong later in Dallas, winning a title with the Mavericks.
Carlisle got the Pistons right to the edge of a title before being fired in favor of Larry Brown, who gets a lot of credit even though it was more the addition of Rasheed Wallace that got the Pistons over the hump.
Carlisle is still considered one of the best coaches in the league and I often wonder how the Pistons history might be different if they had just kept him instead of taking on the mercenary Brown, who never stayed long in one place.
Detroit Pistons top head coaches #2: Larry Brown
I know some people will disagree with this, as Larry Brown put up a .659 winning percentage in 164 games and won a title, but I always thought he was given a bit too much credit, which is why I put him on my most overrated Pistons list even though he was a very good coach.
Brown was undoubtedly one of the best tacticians in the league (though leaving Robert Horry wide open to trap Ginobili in the corner wasn’t a great strategy it turns out), but I also think the Pistons would have won a title with Carlisle and that some of Brown’s antics were harmful to the Pistons title defense in the 2005 Finals.
I know this is all heresy to some fans, but I remember the constant rumors and drama that always came with Larry Brown and I do think there were a lot of coaches who could have won a title with that team, as the Pistons were stacked and very coachable.
I will always be grateful for Brown, as he did bring the Detroit Pistons a title, but I also wonder if they should have won more.
Detroit Pistons top head coaches #1: Flip Saunders
Even though Flip Saunders never won a title, he was very successful in his 246 games with the Pistons, going 176-70 for a .715 winning percentage, by far the best in team history.
I know everyone is focused on titles, but the Pistons had some very good teams under Saunders and got very close several times, including a 64-18 season, best in team history.
The Pistons just ran into some very good teams in the three Eastern Conference Finals Saunders coached them to and he was the longest tenured coach post-Chuck Daly. The Pistons lost to Dwyane Wade’s champion Heat, LeBron James’ and the Cavaliers, and the eventual champion Boston Celtics in three consecutive years. Heartbreaking, yes, but also nothing to be ashamed of as those teams had some all-time greats.
I know plenty of you are shaking your heads right now, as Saunders was often blamed for not getting the Pistons over the top, but if we’re being fair, the real culprit was Joe Dumars, who made some bad decisions and never really valued the good coaches that he had.
One thing that is not debatable is that the Pistons haven’t had a winning coach since, so let’s hope they can string a few good seasons together and get Coach Casey on the right side of .500.