The Indiana Pacers are hiring Rick Carlisle as their head coach for a second time, ESPN reported Thursday.
Carlisle, 61, will sign a four-year, $29 million contract, per the report.
He will replace Nate Bjorkgren, who was fired June 9 after one season as head coach. Bjorkgren guided the team to a 34-38 record in 2020-21, and Indiana missed the playoffs after a blowout loss to the Washington Wizards in the play-in tournament.
Carlisle was the Pacers’ coach from 2003-07, and he compiled a 181-147 record over those four seasons. He also an assistant under Larry Bird from 1997-2000 before accepting his first head-coaching job in 2001 with the Detroit Pistons.
The hiring comes one week after Carlisle stepped down as head coach of the Dallas Maverics, the team he guided to its only NBA championship in 2011. Carlisle had led the Mavericks since the start of the 2008 seasons.
In 19 seasons as head coach for the Pistons, Pacers and Mavericks, Carlisle has an 836-689 record in the regular season. His teams qualified for the playoffs in 14 of those seasons and were 63-70.
–Field Level Media