Hornets fire head coach Steve Clifford

The Charlotte Hornets have hired Mitch Kupchak to run their basketball operations department, and one of his first orders of business will be finding a new head coach.

On Friday, the Hornets announced that they have fired head coach Steve Clifford.

NEWS: The @hornets have relieved Head Coach Steve Clifford of his head coaching duties.

— Charlotte Hornets PR (@HornetsPR) April 13, 2018

As Marc Stein of the New York Times notes, the dismissal came after Clifford met with Kupchak.

Clifford coached the Hornets for the past five seasons, and the team reached the playoffs in two of those and never advanced beyond the first round. They missed the postseason each of the past two years. Clifford finishes his career in Charlotte with an overall record of 196-214.