The New Orleans Hornets fired Byron Scott only nine games into the season on Thursday and replaced him with general manager Jeff Bower, hoping the man who put the current roster together can get more out of it on the court, according to The Associated Press.

 "I told Jeff, 'The genie's out of the bottle,"' Hornets chief operating officer Hugh Weber told AP. "Nobody can say he doesn't have the right players. ... Jeff has hand-selected this team, and we like the idea that now he'll be held accountable for the results.

 "Our expectations are high. Our sense of urgency is high. Our patience is low and we hope that translates into results quickly.

 Scott, who only two seasons ago was the NBA coach of the year, was fired one day after a 124-104 loss at Phoenix dropped New Orleans to 3-6, writes AP.

Bower, who will remain general manager while in his first head coaching job, immediately moved to name Tim Floyd his top assistant and said other assistants will be retained as well. Floyd, a former Chicago Bulls and Hornets head coach, most recently coached at Southern California. He led USC to three straight NCAA tournament appearances, then resigned last June amid allegations he paid to have O.J. Mayo play for the Trojans. An NCAA investigation of the matter is ongoing.

Bower was Floyd's assistant coach with the Hornets during the 2003-04 season, and the two are still friends.

I have a high comfort level with Tim, who has proven himself to be a quality coach, who has proven himself to have some very specific areas that he's outstanding in," Bower said.