Monday, December 12, 2005

Van Gundy Resigns as Heat Coach

Miami Heat coach Stan Van Gundy, who led the team to the best record in the Eastern Conference a season ago, resigned Monday citing family reasons.



A team official, speaking on condition of anonymity because the decision had not been made public, told The Associated Press that Van Gundy's resignation would be announced later Monday.

The team called a news conference for 11 a.m. EST, saying Van Gundy, team president and former coach Pat Riley and Heat owner Micky Arison would appear.

It was not immediately clear who would replace Van Gundy, but indications were Riley, who chose him as his successor a little more than two years ago, could return to the sideline.

"I'm not ever going to rule it out," Riley said this summer when asked about returning. "I think over the last couple of years, Stan has done a great job and I've stayed way in the background. I may take a little bit more of an active, I think, participation in some of the things, but for the most part I'm content at doing what I'm doing."