Is Joe Mazzulla in Danger of Losing Head Coach Position With Celtics After 2026-27 Season? image
© Paul Rutherford-Imagn Images
In the modern-day NBA, head coaches are often given a short window to show what they are capable of, and even when they seem to succeed, front offices don't see it as enough.
We've seen a handful of coaches fired in recent months, including notable names like Billy Donovan, Jason Kidd and Doc Rivers.
Each coach has at some point been a part of a contending team, but things can change quickly, as we saw with the recent firings of these coaches.
Could Joe Mazzulla be next despite having recent success? Let's discuss.
Is Joe Mazzulla in Danger of Losing Head Coach Position With Celtics After 2026-27 Season?
Mazzulla's tenure with the Celtics has been filled with many highs. In fact, Mazzulla technically has the highest winning percentage for a head coach in NBA history (72.6%).
He led the Celtics to the ECF in 2023, his first year as head coach, and won the title with Boston the following season.
MORE:3 Celtics With Most to Prove in 2026-27 Season
However, despite quality regular-season runs the last two years, the Celtics were eliminated in the second round in 2025 and didn't make it out of the first round this past postseason (the first time Boston hasn't won a playoff series since 2021).
'Mazzulla ball' is a phrase we've heard a lot through the years, as the Celtics run an offense that's centered heavily on the three-point shot.
The system worked like a well-oiled machine in Mazzulla's first couple of years as head coach, but it's been less effective/consistent in the last couple of seasons.
Season Team 3P% League Rank Postseason Result
2022-23 37.7 3P% 6th Lost in ECF
2023-24 38.8 3P% 2nd Won NBA Finals
2024-25 36.9 3P% 10th Lost in ECSF
2025-26 36.7 3P% 8th Lost in ECQF
The drop-off statistically as a team hasn't been massive, but in the big moments when the three-point shot has failed them, it's cost them key games against the Knicks last postseason and against the 76ers this past postseason.
MORE: Paul George Named One of NBA's Most Overpaid Players
Boston was 14-15 this past regular season when they made fewer than 14 3P in a game. In their wins last season, they averaged 16.7 3P and in losses averaged 12.8 3P.
They were dead last in the NBA last season with the lowest 3P% in losses, at 30.9 3P%. There's a clear correlation between the Celtics winning games and shooting well from beyond the arc, and vice versa with losses.
That might not be a crazy discovery, but the issue seems to be that they don't adjust well on nights when they don't shoot the three-point shot well.
This could be cleaned up this year, and the Celtics have a new rotation they'll be running, so it's something to keep an eye on.
If this system fails again, that's when conversations could start about Mazzulla as a head coach, despite winning the title in 2024, and winning COTY last season.
The Celtics are certainly not as strong a favorite to finish at the top in the East as they've been entering past seasons, but there's still pressure to meet the expectations Boston as a city has for its teams, and to also take advantage of the years left in Jayson Tatum's prime.
If the season ends similarly to how it did the past two years, it wouldn't be shocking to see the Celtics explore potential options for a new head coach, but that's only relevant if things go downhill this season.
More Celtics