Pistons fire coach Monty Williams one season into record-setting $78.5 million contract

Williams went 14-68 in one season with the Pistons

By Sam Quinn Jun 20, 2024 at 8:59 am ET• 2 min read

The Detroit Pistons fired coach Monty Williams, the team announced Wednesday. The decision to part ways with Williams now reportedly came at the ownership level. Williams, who was hired last offseason on a then-unprecedented six-year, $78.5 million contract, lasted just one year in his new role with the Pistons. He went 14-68 in a disastrous season that included a 28-game losing streak.

"Decisions like these are difficult to make, and I want to thank Monty for his hard work and dedication," Pistons owner Tom Gores said in a team statement. "Coaching has many dynamic challenges that emerge during a season and Monty always handled those with grace. However, after reviewing our performance carefully and assessing our current position as an organization, we will chart a new course moving forward."

The Pistons already made a change atop their basketball operations department when they brought in Trajan Langdon from the New Orleans Pelicans as their new president. Previous general manager Troy Weaver left the team soon after, and with Langdon in place, it seems as though the Pistons have decided to fully clean house and start over without the former NBA finalist Williams.

The contract that Williams signed last offseason reset the market for the NBA's other top coaches. Soon after the Williams contract, Erik Spoelstra earned a new eight-year, $120 million deal with the Miami Heat and that is the new standard. Ty Lue, Gregg Popovich and Steve Kerr have all signed hefty new extensions in the past year at higher annual salaries than what the Pistons gave Williams.