Scott Skiles resigns as Magic head coach

The Orlando Magic are once again looking for a new head coach.

After one season as the team's head man, veteran Scott Skiles announced his resignation on Thursday morning. In his lone season with the Magic, Skiles led the team to a 10 win improvement, as well as improvements on both the offensive and defensive ends of the floor.

According to the Orlando Sentinel's Josh Robbins, Skiles and Magic general manager Rob Hennigan clashed throughout the season, with Skiles questioning the direction of the team. Other reports indicate that Skiles seemingly begged the DeVos family for the job last summer, before growing impatient mid-way through the season.

"After much thought and careful consideration, I and I alone, have come to the conclusion that I am not the right head coach for this team," said Skiles in a statement from the organization. "Therefore, effective immediately, I resign my position as head coach of the Orlando Magic.  I realize this type of decision can cause much speculation.  The reality though is in the first sentence.  It is simple and true.  Any other rumors are pure conjecture."

Skiles later added: "I sincerely apologize for any unintended consequences that may adversely affect anyone associated with this decision. The Magic are a world-class organization that employs world-class people.  I wish them nothing but great success.  I will always be thankful, especially to the DeVos family, for the opportunity."

After a strong start to the season, the team endured a tough month of January, which, at times, left Skiles clearly agitated with his players as he searched for a fix of some sort. As the season progressed, and the team slowly faded out of the playoff picture, they began to show signs of life again, but it was ultimately too late.

The timing of Skiles' resignation is interesting. With three teams with current head coach vacancies -- Houston, Indiana and New York -- the Magic will need to go head first into the pool of available candidates.

Considering many of the coaches they were reportedly interested in last year are still available, the team could look there for a potential replacement. They could also turn to one of the coaches who was fired this year -- Kevin McHale, Frank Vogel or David Blatt -- or look at some of the league's top ranking assistants.

The Magic will begin their search for a coach immediately.

Hennigan, who was part of the team's delegation in Chicago for the NBA Combine issued this statement. "While we understand it was a challenging season, we reluctantly have accepted Scott’s (Skiles) resignation," said Hennigan. "We appreciate Scott instilling a culture of accountability and certainly wish him and his family well."

It will be the fourth coach in three years for the Magic as they continue to look to build back towards championship contender status.