By CLIFF BRUNT 04.25.07, 5:18 PM ET


Rick Carlisle was fired Wednesday after four tumultuous years as coach of the Indiana Pacers, who failed to make the playoffs for the first time in a decade.

Carlisle said he understood it was time for the Pacers to hear a "new voice." Team president Larry Bird said Carlisle has an option to return to the team in another capacity. Carlisle was appointed vice president in October and has until June 15 to decide if he wants to keep that title.

The Pacers finished the season 35-47, their worst since 1988-89. Indiana was 29-24 shortly after the All-Star break, but lost its next 11 games to fall out of playoff contention. A loss to Detroit on April 3 clinched the Pacers' first losing season since 1996-97.

Carlisle struggled to manage talented but volatile players. Ron Artest and Stephen Jackson were the two most prominent players in the 2004 brawl between Pacers players and Detroit Pistons fans. That brawl started the unraveling of a team that was expected to make several title runs.

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-- Edited by BeeUTFul1 at 18:54, 2007-04-25