L.A. Clipper fans are throwing a party out there. Mike Dunleavy has stepped down as head coach of the Clippers. It's a move that has been long overdue in my opinion and, while the Clippers are a longshot right now to make the postseason, it should breathe new life into this team.

"Fire Dunleavy" chants have been rampant in Staples Center for the last two seasons. I couldn't believe that he stayed on as coach after seasons of 23 wins and 19 wins. Maybe it's because we know Donald Sterling is notoriously cheap and wouldn't hire another coach while paying Dunleavy but no other coach would survive after seasons like those in any other NBA franchise.

I'm not really sure who thinks Dunleavy is a great coach. I'll say this, though: he's a very good defensive coach. But his system hasn't matched his players in a while. When they made the playoffs in 2006, he had guys that dominated the ball (Sam Cassell and Elton Brand) and, therefore, Dunleavy's isolation system worked. Plus, it helped that Sam Cassell had earned Dunleavy's trust into making his own decisions so Cassell pretty much became the coach on the floor. But with this current group of guys? Only Chris Kaman seemed to fit Dunleavy's plays and, while I'll give credit to Kaman for having All-Star numbers, the rest of the guys are young, spry, and made for running and motion offense. Baron Davis had always been a run-and-gun type of point guard. Eric Gordon and Rasual Butler can run around and hit open shots. DeAndre Jordan would be great on a fastbreak. Al Thornton is an incredible athlete. But Dunleavy didn't use his players' strengths and insisted on his offense. While tried-and-true, it doesn't fit the make-up of this ballclub.

Mike Dunleavy also had some terrible substitution patterns. He would take a hot Baron Davis out in the fourth quarter... and then let him stew for a majority of the quarter. By the time Baron got back, the lead is gone, there would be two minutes left, and Baron would be as cold as ice. When Dunleavy needed rebounders, he would take Al Thornton out (who has improved his rebounding) and would put in Sebastian Telfair (not exactly known for getting boards). Sometimes, he would put in Steve Novak and Brian Skinner in crucial situations. And DeAndre Jordan, who had a great preseason, has been handcuffed by Dunleavy. He would still rather go to Brian Skinner (someone who's notorious for blowing dunks) than Jordan. This stuff frustrated Clipper fans.

Now assistant head coach Kim Hughes is taking over. He's a virtual unknown in the NBA but has assisted Jerry Sloan and George Karl in the past. He will likely run a lot of motion offense and will get the guys to run a little more. Plus he's a fresh voice the Clipper players can listen to as they have probably already tuned out Dunleavy, who is also notorious for micromanaging his players.

Dunleavy gets to stay on as general manager, though. As a GM, Dunleavy's not terrible. He swung moves to get Rasual Butler and Bobby Brown for second-round picks way later in the decade. He also got Baron Davis to sign with the Clippers and drafted Eric Gordon and Al Thornton. So he's pretty good in that department.

One thing's for sure: the Dunleavy coaching era is over in Clipperland. This may be the shot in the arm the Clippers needed. And who knows? Maybe they can make one final push to the postseason this year. If not, the mantra of "maybe next year" continues. However, that next year is looking brighter than ever before.　

Well, as long as they don't hire Isiah Thomas as GM and coach.