ESPN.com's Marc Stein reports that the Atlanta Hawks fired coach Lon Kruger and assistant coach Gar Heard on Thursday.

Assistant coach Terry Stotts will take over as head coach, but the Hawks are not listing Stotts as interim coach. He will be given the opportunity to earn the job on a long-term basis depending on what happens the rest of the season.

"I guess when you talk about wins and losses, we haven't gotten the job done, and so it didn't really come as a surprise,'' Kruger told the Associated Press.

The team will officially announce the moves at an 8 p.m. ET news conference.

The news came hours after the Thrashers, a team also owned by AOL Time-Warner, fired their coach, Curt Fraser.

At Kruger's behest, the Hawks guaranteed a playoff berth to their season-ticket holders by offering them a rebate on ticket packages should the team miss the postseason. In the wake of a 3-8 skid and public criticism from forwards Shareef Abdur-Rahim and Ira Newble regarding the club's readiness to play, Hawks management decided it could wait no longer.

Stotts, one of the league's most highly regarded assistants under George Karl in Seattle and Milwaukee, broke ties with Karl over the summer to join the Hawks. Director of player personnel Alex English was named Stotts' No. 1 assistant.

Steve Henson will also remain as an assistant for the Hawks, who are 11-16 and struggling attendance-wise.

Kruger compiled a 69-122 record in more than two seasons with the Hawks.

"The only thing I regret is that I didn't help these guys turn the corner,'' Kruger said.