Clippers May Be Close to a Coaching Change

Flecks of gray have invaded areas of Don Chaney’s hair and beard that only recently were strictly black. If he lasts as coach of the downtrodden Clippers much longer, people may be tempted to change Chaney’s nickname from Duck to Whitey.

“I usually pull out the gray hairs,” Chaney said. “But there are too many now, and I don’t have time.”

Time and victories are what Chaney needs most at this point. But there is growing speculation that Chaney’s days as the Clipper coach are dwindling as the losses mount.

The Clippers have an 8-15 record and have lost 15 of their last 18 games. The last two losses were an embarrassing 40-point rout by Utah last Saturday and a 39-point drubbing at Denver Wednesday night.

Should the Clippers give another repeat performance here tonight at 7:30 against the Seattle SuperSonics, people may start calling Chaney, who has a one-year contract that is believed not to be fully guaranteed, Lame Duck.

Publicly, General Manager Carl Scheer says he hasn’t even considered making a coaching change. But owner Donald T. Sterling reportedly has told friends that he is disappointed with both the players and coaches, particularly the coaches.

It was Sterling who made the call last March when Jim Lynam was fired. Despite his low profile in public, Sterling makes the major decisions. He could not be reached Thursday.

“Under the circumstances, Don has done a good job,” Scheer said. “Our record is not good and everyone shares the responsibility, including the general manager and coach. I’m not telling you everything is rosy, but we’re not going to panic, and firing the coach is panicking. What good would panicking do?”

Chaney, 39, first expressed concern about his job status after Wednesday’s game and discussed it further Thursday, even though he said he feels no need to defend himself.

“I don’t think a loss (to Seattle) will make my status any shakier than it is after last night (Wednesday),” Chaney said. “It’s up to management, if they want to make changes.

“I think it would be unfair to do it now, but I have a personal interest. I think it would be fair if Derek (Smith) comes back in the flow after his injury and we still lose. Right now, there’s just been too many changes.”

Chaney didn’t get his point guard, Norm Nixon, until the 14th game of the season because of the protracted contract negotiations between Nixon and management. A dizzying string of injuries also hit, leaving the Clippers without Smith, the leading scorer, for the last 15 games.

Chaney, like any rookie coach, has made mistakes. He has been criticized for indecisiveness regarding personnel, and veterans such as Nixon have suggested that Chaney isn’t tough enough with them.

Nixon said after one recent game: “He should maybe slam a couple of us off the wall. That’s maybe what we need.”

Chaney said he realizes that outsiders will look to the coaching as the source of problems. But he said Scheer has not brought up the subject with him--yet.

“I talked with Carl this morning, like I do after most games,” Chaney said. “I welcome his views. I think that if he was thinking about firing me, he would mention it. He hasn’t mentioned it.”

Scheer said: “It’s only 23 games into the season. We can’t make changes every time we hit a bad period.”