Grading Pelicans’ Jamahl Mosley hire as new head coach after Magic debacle

May 18, 2026 - 17:00

The New Orleans Pelicans have had a rough past two seasons, and they’re hoping to reset after hiring Jamahl Mosley as their next head coach. Mosley has had success over the past few years with the Orlando Magic, another young team that had to grow to get to where they are.

The Pelicans seem to be in that position right now, and they have a core group that can turn into something special now and in the future.

Mosley will have the opportunity to coach a group of Zion Williamson, Trey Murphy III, Herb Jones, Dejounte Murray, Derik Queen and Jeremiah Fears, and he’s shown that he can get the best out of his players. While coaching the Magic, he had the team ranked defensively No. 3 overall in 2023-24 and No. 2 overall in 2024-25.

The Pelicans have a few players on the team who are gifted on defense, but getting the entire team on the same accord is different. If Mosley can build that side of the ball, the Pelicans could be a solid team, but it’s the offense where he will have to figure out a lot of things.

It was one of the areas where the Magic were not good in, and they were near the bottom of the league for some years when it came to 3-point shooting. With Williamson and Queen in the frontcourt, Mosley will have to find a way to make that pairing work when it’s time to score, but also defend.

Nonetheless, if the Pelicans organization was more focused on getting their defense to be near the top of the league, they hired the right person. On offense, it’s good that they have players who can get a bucket, and Mosley could have more success with them than the Magic on that side of the ball.

In the end, the Pelicans hired someone with experience in leading a young group and helping them grow as the years went on, and he’s been to the playoffs three straight times. Though he hasn’t had that much success in that realm, he has still built a foundation where he can be trusted to help a team become successful.