After a miserable 32-50 season, the Milwaukee Bucks and Doc Rivers have officially parted ways, which should signal a new direction.
Rivers’ tumultuous time with the Bucks included the organization’s deteriorating relationship with Giannis Antetokounmpo, two first-round exits and now missing both the playoffs and the Play-In Tournament. No team in the NBA is in more flux than the Bucks this offseason, as Milwaukee has a lot to decide during the summer.
Therefore, choosing a new head coach is the first step toward moving in the right direction. After the failed Doc Rivers experiment, there are a number of candidates who make sense for Milwaukee, as the organization’s plan moving forward will include the type of coach it hires in the next few weeks.
While Michael Malone took the North Carolina job to remove himself from NBA consideration, there’s still a strong group of candidates available for the Bucks to consider. Here’s a look at the five best candidates for the Bucks’ coaching search.
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1. Taylor Jenkins.jpg.webp.webp "Taylor Jenkins")
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Jenkins, a former Bucks assistant, is the most logical fit to replace Rivers, as he has a solid combination of experience and youth. Jenkins spent parts of six seasons from 2019 to 2025 as the Memphis Grizzlies‘ head coach, leading them to three playoff appearances and two 50-win seasons, but is still just 41 years old.
Other NBA teams looking for a head coach this offseason will likely be interested in Jenkins, which makes him a hot candidate over the next few weeks. Jenkins was a Milwaukee assistant for one season in 2018–19, which was when the Bucks made the Eastern Conference Finals for the first time in almost two decades.
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2. Sam Cassell
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Cassell has been an assistant coach for almost two decades and is due get his first head coaching job sometime soon. A former NBA point guard for 15 years, Cassell has been an assistant for the Washington Wizards, Los Angeles Clippers, Philadelphia Sixers and Boston Celtics, finding much success in that span.
Cassell is part of a strong Celtics staff that won the NBA Finals in 2024 and has been as impressive as any staff this season. There is also some nostalgia here, as Cassell had some of his best playing years with the Bucks in the early 2000s.
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3. Tom Thibodeau
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Thibodeau is the best coach on the market, but he only fits teams heading in a certain direction. The 68-year-old is not the kind of coach for a team heading into a rebuild, so Milwaukee hiring him would be a sign that it wants to turn things around quickly, with or without Giannis Antetokounmpo.
Thibodeau will offer teams the highest floor of any candidate available this year but also offers the shortest window due to his style and age. However, he would certainly stabilize an environment in Milwaukee that got out of hand over the course of the year.
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4. Chris Quinn
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Quinn is one of the popular young assistants in the NBA that would be a sign the Bucks are taking a more patient path moving forward. The 42-year-old spent six seasons in the NBA as a point guard, but has been a Miami Heat assistant for over a decade now as one the key members of Erik Spoelstra’s staff.
Teams in the middle of rebuilds will likely consider Quinn this Spring, so Milwaukee hiring him could be evidence that the team wants to go through an arduous rebuild. However, Quinn also provides perhaps the highest ceiling of any coach available.
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5. Terry Stotts
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Like Thibodeau, Stotts is a veteran coach who offers a more win-now approach at 68 years-old. The veteran coach was very successful with the Portland Trail Blazers, making the playoffs in eight of his nine seasons leading the team, and he has over 500 wins as a head coach in his career.
Stotts has history with the Bucks that could stop the team from pursuing him. Besides the fact that Stotts was the Bucks head coach once before, from 2005-07, Stotts returned in 2023 to be an assistant for Adrian Griffin, but resigned before the season began.