The news of Mike Brown’s firing spread like wildfire on Friday morning with the Los Angeles Lakers deciding to part ways with the head coach after starting the regular season with a 1-4 record.
The firing was a surprise to most with the consensus being the Brown would get an opportunity to turn the season around, but with so much invested in the team after an off-season filled with blockbuster moves, the storied franchise felt it was time to let him go.
In the aftermath of Brown’s firing, the rumors have started to run rampant about the candidates to replace him on the Lakers’ sideline. The first name to be mentioned, as always with a coaching vacancy in Los Angeles over the past few years, was 11-time NBA champion, Phil Jackson.
Although many believed the Zen Master had officially walked away from the game after the Lakers were swept by the eventual NBA champion Dallas Mavericks the season before last, reports have begun to surface that Jackson is open to returning the NBA according to Dave McMenamin of ESPNLosAngeles.com:
Phil Jackson is open to returning to the NBA sidelines, according to multiple sources with knowledge of the Hall of Fame coach’s thinking.
With the Los Angeles Lakers relieving Mike Brown of his coaching duties Friday morning due to a 1-4 start, the door is open for Jackson to return to the Lakers for his third stint as coach of the league’s glamour franchise.
The search for a new head coach has only just begun for the Lakers’ front office with a handful of options being explored before making a final decision. There’s no question that if Jackson is ready to make his return to Los Angeles that the Lakers organization won’t hesitate to make the move to bring him back into the fold, but no contact has been made by the two sides as of yet.
Another deciding factor for the Lakers’ front office moving forward maybe Dwight Howard recently expressing his desire for Jackson to return to Los Angeles. Although GM Mitch Kupchak said in the presser to announce the firing of Brown that players will not be given the final say in the hiring of the next coach, Howard’s opinion has to be taken into account with the team trying to convince him to sign long-term next summer.
Other notable candidates for the Lakers head coaching position are Mike D’Antoni, Brian Shaw and Jerry Sloan.
