April 28th, 2008 
Stephen Rhodes 
Posted in ???????????????????????????????????
The Miami Heat had a 15-67 season, which was easily the worst under the watch of coach Pat Riley.? The title is now officially ex-coach Pat Riley, as according to the Associated Press, a source close to Riley has stated that on Monday afternoon, Riley is expected to resign as the team’s coach but remain as the team president.? In that position, Riley would continue to oversee the rebuilding of the team and stop its dramatic fall – especially after they won the NBA championship back in 2006.? The train of thought around Miami is that Riley could announce as soon as Monday his replacement as coach; the name that has been tossed around the most during the process is assistant coach Erik Spoelstra.? This would mimic what Riley once did when he promoted Stan Van Gundy to head coach a few years ago.
Assuming Riley does in fact retire from the coaching ranks, he would finish his coaching career ranked third all-time in NBA coaching victories with 1,210 wins – just behind Lenny Wilkens and Don Nelson; in addition, he has won 7 NBA championships – 5 as a coach, 1 as an assistant and 1 as a player.? He was also voted into the 2008 Hall of Fame class this month, of which the induction will take place on September 5.
