The Detroit Pistons confirmed Wednesday that have fired head coach Monty Williams after one season on the bench.

Pistons PR @Pistons_PR

.<a href="">@DetroitPistons</a> to make coaching change. <a href="">

Williams sudden exit comes after after Detroit handed him a record-setting six-year, $78.5 million contract. The Pistons are now left to pay him more than $65 million to not coach anymore.

Adrian Wojnarowski @wojespn

The decision to fire Monty Williams now was made at the ownership level, sources tell ESPN. <a href="">

Because of that, the franchise is opening itself up to plenty of mockery.

Mike Golic Jr @mikegolicjr

the Pistons are officially a college football team now <a href="">

theScore @theScore

Monty Williams on his couch the entire summer:<a href="">

Jeff Eisenband @JeffEisenband

Pistons: "We're going to have to let you go with 5 years, $65 million left on your deal, but we still owe you the money."<br><br>Monty Williams: <a href="">

That's still better to admit you made a costly mistake than persist with a partnership that isn't working. That risked doing far more damage to the team than having the owners simply write Williams a large check.

And it only took one year to raise serious questions over Williams' fit with the Pistons' young roster.

Detroit's 14-68 record was its worst ever and the season included the longest losing streak in NBA history (28 games). More than that, Williams didn't seem to be forging the kind of culture that would pay long-term dividends, and some of his strategic decisions were puzzling to say the least.

Kory E. Woods @KoryEWoods

Monty Williams: "I think this group struggles with adversity."

Starting Killian Hayes, who was waived in February, over Jaden Ivey to open the season was a head-scratcher. The same was true for leaning on the likes of Evan Fournier, Malachi Flynn and James Wiseman and tinkering with lineups that have little to no upside.

James L. Edwards III @JLEdwardsIII

Pistons already using 10 men before the end of the 1Q.

That's not to say the Pistons are a head coach away from being a playoff contender.

Detroit hired Trajan Langdon as its new president of basketball operations earlier in the offseason, and firing general manager Troy Weaver was his first piece of business in the role. The organization is effectively hitting the reset button after five years of being in the lottery, which is always the sign of a rebuild gone bad.

Langdon now has the opportunity to hire his own head coach, one who's better suited for the squad. The Pistons are entering the coaching carousel at a relatively late stage, but the scale of the challenge ahead for Williams' replacement would've probably limited the pool of suitors regardless of when the vacancy became available.

One benefit is that whoever comes in should be afforded plenty of patience.