As the 2025-26 season draws to a close, head coaching vacancies will start to open up across the league.<\/p>\n
At 40-36, Magic<\/a> coach Jamahl Mosley is reportedly on the hot seat, and he could be fired if the team doesn\u2019t make a competent postseason run. According to insider Brett Siegel, however, the franchise already has a replacement in mind: Nuggets<\/a> coach Michael Malone.<\/p>\n \u201cWinning is the Magic\u2019s main priority, and missing the playoffs with the roster they have assembled would be viewed as a failure of a season,\u201d wrote Siegel<\/a>. \u201cThat is why Mosley is on the hot seat, and it\u2019s also why league sources are linking former Denver Nuggets head coach Michael Malone to Orlando. Malone is once again expected to hear his name in connection with several head coaching openings this upcoming summer, particularly in Orlando if they move on from Mosley.\u201d<\/p>\n The Magic haven\u2019t made any permanent decisions on their coaching staff, but it hasn\u2019t been a great tenure under Mosley, who has amassed a 144-184 record in his first four seasons on the job. While he has led the Magic to a respectable place in the East, he has butted heads with Paolo Banchero<\/a>, causing some division in the locker room and increasing doubt among fans.<\/p>\n At ninth in the East (40-36), they haven\u2019t come close to meeting expectations, and frustration has been building with each passing loss. Now, with just six games left to play, the Magic are scrambling to get their act together<\/a> and find a winning formula before it\u2019s too late.<\/p>\n If they can\u2019t, the Magic won\u2019t hesitate to find a new voice, and Michael Malone is viewed as the perfect fit.<\/p>\n \u201cDating back to his time with the Nuggets, Malone always spoke highly of All-Star Paolo Banchero and the talent that the Magic have,\u201d added Siegel<\/a>. \u201cHis winning demeanor and approach to holding his team accountable are exactly what the Magic have been missing. Which is why there is already a sense among league personnel that he would be the perfect replacement to take this organization to the next level.\u201d<\/p>\n Under Malone\u2019s leadership, the Nuggets won the championship in 2023, beating the Heat in five games to take home the Larry O\u2019Brien trophy. While Nikola Jokic<\/a> is the one to credit for the run, Malone\u2019s influence in the locker room was real, and his schemes helped guide the Nuggets through their toughest obstacles.<\/p>\n