The New Orleans Pelicans are reportedly hiring Jamahl Mosley as their next head coach, ESPN’s Shams Charania reported Monday. Mosley spent the past five seasons with the Orlando Magic, where he coached the team to a 189-221 record.
Mosley’s firing comes months after the Pelicans fired former head coach Willie Green. That firing came back in November. At the time, the team was just 2-10, making Green the first head coach fired during the 2025-26 NBA season.
Green was originally replaced by former Charlotte Hornets head coach James Borrego on an interim basis. Borrego led the team to a 24-46 record the rest of the way and was considered a candidate to be the team’s next head coach once the season ended.
But the team opted to go a different direction after Mosley was made available. The 47-year-old Mosley was fired by the Magic in May, after his team blew a 3-1 lead to the Detroit Pistons in the first round of the playoffs.
The move ended Mosley’s five-year run with the Magic. After a slow start in Orlando, Mosley managed to lead the team to playoff appearance in each of the last three seasons. But the team failed to advance past the first round in each year, leading to Mosley’s dismissal. He finished with a 189-221 record in five regular seasons with the team. The team went 7-12 in the playoffs under Mosley.
With the hiring, the Pelicans could be looking for Mosley to re-create his success in Orlando. Mosley was hired by the Magic with the team coming off a miserable 21-51 season. The Pelicans weren’t much better last year, finishing 26-56.
It took Mosley two years before turning the Magic into a winning team. Orlando went 56-108 during his first two seasons with the team. But then improved to 133-113 over his final three years.
A big part of that turnaround involved some strong drafts. Coming into Mosley’s first year, the team drafted Franz Wagner and Jalen Suggs. Ahead of Mosley’s second season, the Magic selected star Pablo Banchero with the No. 1 overall pick. All three players remain key contributors on the Magic today, and played significant roles in the team developing into a winner.
The Pelicans will be behind the eight ball if the team hopes to re-create that timeline. The Pelicans do not own a first-round pick in the 2026 NBA Draft after trading it away last year. The team holds just one selection in the upcoming draft, the No. 58 overall pick.
