Orlando, Fla. ? The Orlando Magic fired Jacque Vaughn as coach Thursday after 21/2 seasons, ending the tenure of the first-time head coach brought in to help rebuild the franchise.

General manager Rob Hennigan announced the move, following a 15-37 start to the season and after a series of lopsided losses during a 10-game losing streak. It is the Magic’s second skid of at least five games since the start of 2015.

Assistant James Borrego has been named interim coach.

“Jacque has been a trusted friend and colleague,” Hennigan said in a release from the team. “We thank him immensely for his contributions and sacrifices in bringing our team to this point, and we greatly appreciate his unwavering commitment to our organization. We have tremendous respect for Jacque and certainly wish him the best as he embarks on the next phase of his career.”

Orlando was also 15-37 through 52 games last season.

The 39-year-old Vaughn, a former Kansas University standout, ends his Orlando tenure with a 58-158 overall record.

“We went into this season wanting to see some progress,” Hennigan said at a news conference Thursday afternoon. “We wanted to see growth. We just didn’t feel like we were seeing the type of growth we wanted to see. We’re finding ourselves in sort of a rut…but it’s a road bump, not a road block.”

Vaughn’s dismissal comes despite having the fourth-year option of his contract picked up by the team this this past offseason.

“There’s never an ideal time to make a change of this magnitude,” Hennigan said. “As the season progressed, we just felt like a change needed to be made and this was the time to do it. Plain and simple.

“We were trying to get our hands around the inconsistency we were seeing on the floor. There’s a a lot of reasons for that. Jacque’s not the only reason for that.”

Vaughn struggled to help his team show improvement after a massive offseason influx of players, which included the addition of free agent Channing Frye.

The final tipping point came following the Magic’s 110-103 loss at San Antonio on Wednesday, which despite a strong start displayed many of Orlando’s recent on-court woes.

Despite being as healthy as the team has been all season, the Magic have given up 100 or more points in 14 consecutive games. They’ve also lost five of their last six at home, where they are just 5-17 this year.

The most recent losing streak has also included perplexing losses to some of the NBA’s worst clubs in Detroit, Charlotte, L.A. Lakers and New York.

Both Vaughn and general manager Rob Hennigan were hired three seasons ago to lead the rebuild of the club following the departure of former franchise stalwart Dwight Howard.