On this day in Boston Celtics history, former Head Coach Jimmy Rodgers was fired in that role after unexpectedly dropping a first-round matchup with the New York Knicks in the 1990 NBA Playoffs. Rodgers had joined the Celtics as an assistant coach under Bill Fitch in 1979. He would stay on with the organization after Fitch was let go as head coach in 1983, working under Celtics legend KC Jones, then replacing Jones as head coach upon his resignation in 1988.
Rodgers was dealt a rough hand in his first season, with star forward Larry Bird out injured for much of the season. While the first-round exit and poor records are perhaps not up to par for the Celtics teams of old, the franchise inherited by Rodgers was heavily mortgaged in favor of an aging core that probably should have been broken up years earlier.
Rodgers finished with a 94-70 regular-season record, and went 2 and 6 in the postseason, good for .573 and .250 winning percentages, respectively.
