Bayern, coach Gordon Herbert part ways

This is the sixth coaching change this season in the EuroLeague

FC Bayern Munich announced on Saturday it is parting ways with head coach Gordie Herbert with immediate effect.

“The 66-year-old Canadian and the German champions mutually agreed to end their cooperation early after a constructive discussion on Saturday”, the club explained in the official announcement on its website, adding that both parties agreed that the decision was made “in the best interests of the team and the club.”

Bayern is currently on an eight-game losing streak, but has played its last seven games on the road. The team sits in 19th place with a 5-12 record.

Herbert arrived to Bayern bench last summer after the 2024 Summer Olympics, after he left the head-coaching post with the German national team. In three years at that position, Herbert led Germany to a gold medal at the 2023 FIBA World Cup and a bronze medal at EuroBasket 2022.

Last season, under Herbert’s guidance, Bayern came within a win of the EuroLeague Playoffs, losing in the second round of the Play-In Showdown on the road at Real Madrid. Last season, playing under Herbert, Nick Weiler-Babb was chosen as the EuroLeague Best Defender, while Carsen Edwards finished the season second in scoring, as he averaged 20.4 points.

But over the summer, Weiler-Babb joined Efes, Edwards went to Virtus while star big man Devin Booker departed to joined EA7 Emporio Armani Milan. Meanwhile, Johannes Voigtmann and Justus Hollatz came back injured from the EuroBasket, while Kamar Baldwin suffered an injury in November and is still missing in action.

Bayern also announced that the team will be led by the current assistant coaching staff, but that it “hopes to clarify the succession plan by Tuesday evening’s next EuroLeague home game at [home] against league leaders Hapoel IBI Tel Aviv."

Bayern is the sixth team to change a coach this season, following Efes, Milan, Barcelona and the Belgrade duo of Crvena Zvezda and Partizan.