5 Shortest Coaching Stints in NBA History

#1 Jerry Tarkanian with the San Antonio Spurs (20 games)

Jerry Tarkanian

This list is rounded out by the coach of a franchise that is today synonymous with stability, great governance and excellence. Yes, it's the San Antonio Spurs we're talking about here, and it is this ball club that elected to hire Jerry Tarkanian in the summer of 1992. Tarkanian had previously coached UNV to the Final Four four times, and the NCAA title in 1990.

But he found himself faced with an uphill challenge - guiding the Spurs to an NBA championship with David Robinson as his best player. Not only did he fail to win the locker room over to his side - several senior Spurs players were openly against him - but he also fell victim to nervous breakdowns and panic attacks.

He might have brought about his own demise by writing to team owner Red McCombs, requesting him to recruit a point guard. In his 20-game spell in charge of the Spurs, they won 9 and lost 11. It wasn't so much a case of not having patience with a head coach as the fact that they found him to be utterly incapable of being a competent coach at the NBA level.