View source for List of Miami Heat head coaches

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{{Use mdy dates|date=May 2025}}
The [[Miami Heat]] are an American professional [[basketball]] team based in [[Miami]]. They play in the [[Southeast Division (NBA)|Southeast Division]] of the [[Eastern Conference (NBA)|Eastern Conference]] in the [[National Basketball Association]] (NBA).<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.nba.com/standings/team_record_comparison/conferenceNew_Std_Div.html|title=2008-2009 Division Regular Season Standings|publisher=Turner Sports Interactive, Inc|work=NBA.com|access-date=January 20, 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120108044514/http://www.nba.com/standings/team_record_comparison/conferenceNew_Std_Div.html|archive-date=January 8, 2012|url-status=dead}}</ref> The team joined the NBA in 1988 as an [[expansion team]] with the [[Charlotte Hornets]],<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.nba.com/heat/history/yearbyyear_intro.html|title=After Early Struggles, Miami Proves It's Tough To Beat The HEAT|publisher=Turner Sports Interactive, Inc|work=NBA.com|access-date=January 20, 2009}}</ref> and won its first [[List of NBA champions|NBA championship]] in [[2006 NBA Finals|2006]].<ref name="champs"/> The team played its home games at the [[Miami Arena]] until 2000,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.nba.com/heat/history/yearbyyear_8889.html|title=1988-89: Victory Hard to Come By|publisher=Turner Sports Interactive, Inc|work=NBA.com|access-date=January 20, 2009}}</ref> and have played its home games at the [[American Airlines Arena]] since then.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.nba.com/heat/history/yearbyyear_9900.html|title=1999-2000: A New Millennium Begins In A New Arena|publisher=Turner Sports Interactive, Inc|work=NBA.com|access-date=January 20, 2009}}</ref> The Heat is owned by [[Micky Arison]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.nba.com/heat/contact/directory_arison.html|title=Heat Executives|publisher=Turner Sports Interactive, Inc|work=NBA.com|access-date=January 20, 2009}}</ref>

There have been six&nbsp;[[head coach]]es for the Heat franchise. The franchise's first head coach was [[Ron Rothstein]], who served for three seasons with the Heat. [[Pat Riley]], having coached the Heat for eleven seasons in two stints, is the franchise's all-time leader for the most regular-season games coached (849), the most regular-season game wins (454), the most playoff games coached (50), and the most playoff-game wins (26); [[Erik Spoelstra]] is the franchise's all-time leader for the highest [[winning percentage]] in the regular season (.707) and total wins (607). Riley is the only Heat head coach to be named one of the [[50 Greatest Players#Coaches|top 10 coaches in NBA history]],<ref name="topten"/> to have won the [[NBA Coach of the Year Award]], having won it in the {{nbay|1996|app=season}}<ref name="coy"/> and to have been elected into the [[List of members of the Basketball Hall of Fame (coaches)|Basketball Hall of Fame as a coach]], having been elected into the Hall of Fame in 2008.<ref name="riley">{{cite web|url=https://www.basketball-reference.com/coaches/rileypa01c.html|title=Pat Riley Coaching Record|work=basketball-reference.com|access-date=January 20, 2009}}</ref> Spoelstra is the only Heat head coach to have spent his entire NBA coaching career with the Heat, and has been the head coach of the Heat since 2008.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.basketball-reference.com/teams/MIA/coaches.html|title=Miami Heat Coach Register|work=basketball-reference.com|access-date=January 20, 2009}}</ref>

== Key ==
{| class="wikitable"
|-
|'''GC'''
|Games coached
|-
|'''W'''
|Wins
|-
|'''L'''
|Losses
|-
|'''Win%'''
|[[Winning percentage]]
|-
|'''#'''
|Number of coaches{{ref label|Note1|a|a}}
|-
|style="background-color:#ddffdd; width:6em"|*
| Spent entire NBA head coaching career with the Heat
|-
|style="background-color:#FFE6BD; width:6em"|{{dagger}}
|Elected into the [[List of members of the Basketball Hall of Fame (coaches)|Basketball Hall of Fame as a coach]]
|-
|}

== Coaches ==
''Note: Statistics are correct through the end of the {{nbay|2024|app=season}}.''
{| class="wikitable sortable"
! rowspan="2"| #
! rowspan="2"| Name
! rowspan="2"| Term{{ref label|Note2|b|b}}
! GC
! W
! L
! Win%
! GC
! W
! L
! Win%
! rowspan="2" class=unsortable| Achievements
! rowspan="2" class=unsortable| Reference
|-class="unsortable"
! colspan="4"|Regular season
! colspan="4"|Playoffs
|-
|align=center|{{ntsh|1}}1
|{{sortname|Ron|Rothstein}}
|{{nbay|1988|start}}–{{nbay|1990|end}}
|246
|57
|189
|.232
|—
|—
|—
|—
|
|align=center|<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.basketball-reference.com/coaches/rothsro99c.html|title=Ron Rothstein Coaching Record|work=basketball-reference.com|access-date=January 20, 2009}}</ref>
|-
|align=center|{{ntsh|2}}2
|{{sortname|Kevin|Loughery}}
|{{nbay|1991|start}}–{{nbay|1994|end}}
|292
|133
|159
|.455
|8
|2
|6
|.250
|
|align=center|<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.basketball-reference.com/coaches/loughke01c.html|title=Kevin Loughery Coaching Record|work=basketball-reference.com|access-date=January 20, 2009}}</ref>
|-
|align=center|{{ntsh|3}}3
|{{sortname|Alvin|Gentry}}
|{{nbay|1994|end}}
|36
|15
|21
|.417
|—
|—
|—
|—
|
|align=center|<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.basketball-reference.com/coaches/gentral99c.html|title=Alvin Gentry Coaching Record|work=basketball-reference.com|access-date=January 20, 2009}}</ref>
|-
|align=center|{{ntsh|4}}4
|style="background-color:#FFE6BD"|{{sortname|Pat|Riley}}
|{{nbay|1995|start}}–{{nbay|2002|end}}
|624
|354
|270
|.567
|43
|18
|25
|.419
|One of the [[50 Greatest Players#Coaches|top 10 coaches in NBA history]] (1996)<ref name="topten">{{cite web|url=http://www.nba.com/history/top_10_coaches.html|title=Top 10 Coaches in NBA History|publisher=Turner Sports Interactive, Inc|work=NBA.com|access-date=July 30, 2008|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100119011709/http://www.nba.com/history/top_10_coaches.html|archive-date=January 19, 2010|url-status=dead}}</ref><br>1996–97 [[NBA Coach of the Year]]<ref name="coy">{{cite web|url=http://www.nba.com/history/awards_coachofyear.html|title=Coach of the Year|publisher=Turner Sports Interactive, Inc|work=NBA.com|access-date=January 20, 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100915001144/http://www.nba.com/history/awards_coachofyear.html|archive-date=September 15, 2010|url-status=dead}}</ref><br>One of the [[NBA 75th Anniversary Team#Coaches|15 Greatest Coaches in NBA History]] (2022)<ref name="nba.com">{{Cite web |title=NBA 75: Top 15 coaches in league history revealed |url=https://www.nba.com/news/nba-75-top-15-coaches-league-history|access-date=2023-05-29 |website=NBA.com |language=en}}</ref>
|align=center|<ref name="riley"/>
|-
|align=center|{{ntsh|5}}5
|{{sortname|Stan|Van Gundy}}
|{{nbay|2003|start}}–{{nbay|2005|start}}
|185
|112
|73
|.605
|28
|17
|11
|.607
|
|align=center|<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.basketball-reference.com/coaches/vangust99c.html|title=Stan Van Gundy Coaching Record|work=basketball-reference.com|access-date=January 20, 2009}}</ref>
|-
|align=center|{{ntsh|6}}—
|style="background-color:#FFE6BD"|{{sortname|Pat|Riley}}
|{{nbay|2005|start}}–{{nbay|2007|end}}
|225
|100
|125
|.444
|27
|16
|11
|.593
|[[List of NBA champions|NBA championship]] ([[2006 NBA Finals|2006]])<ref name="champs">{{cite web|url=http://www.nba.com/history/finals/champions.html|title=NBA Finals: All-Time Champions|publisher=Turner Sports Interactive, Inc|work=NBA.com|access-date=January 20, 2009}}</ref>
|align=center|<ref name="riley"/>
|-
|align=center|{{ntsh|7}}6
|style="background-color:#ddffdd"|{{sortname|Erik|Spoelstra}}*
|{{nbay|2008|start}}–present
|1,359
|787
|572
|{{Winning percentage|750|527}}
|193
|110
|83
|{{Winning percentage|110|83}}
|[[List of NBA champions|NBA championship]] ([[2012 NBA Finals|2012]], [[2013 NBA Finals|2013]])<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.basketball-reference.com/coaches/spoeler99c.html|title=Erik Spoelstra Coaching Record|work=basketball-reference.com|access-date=October 23, 2020}}</ref><br>One of the [[NBA 75th Anniversary Team#Coaches|15 Greatest Coaches in NBA History]] (2022)<ref name="nba.com"/>
|-
|}

<gallery>
File:Pat Riley.jpg|Pat Riley coached the Heat to the NBA championship in the 2006 NBA Finals.
File:StanVanGundy 20050723.jpg|Stan Van Gundy coached the Heat to the Conference Finals in 2005.
File:Erik Spoelstra in 2009.jpg|Erik Spoelstra coached the Heat to two NBA championships in 2012 and 2013, as well as Conference Championships in 2011, 2014, 2020, and 2023.
</gallery>

==Notes==
*{{note label|Note1|a|a}} A running total of the number of coaches of the Heat. Thus, any coach who has two or more separate terms as head coach is only counted once.
*{{note label|Note2|b|b}} Each year is linked to an article about that particular NBA season.

==References==
;General
{{refbegin}}
*{{cite web|url=https://www.basketball-reference.com/teams/MIA/coaches.html|title=Miami Heat Coach Register|work=basketball-reference.com|access-date=January 20, 2009}}
{{refend}}
;Specific
{{reflist|colwidth=30em}}

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