The state of the New York Knicks has led to rumors throughout the season. One of the most widely discussed ones involved team president Phil Jackson returning to the sidelines as a coach for home games next season. At the time, the speculation seemed far-fetched but there was just enough there to make one believe it would be possible. In fact, it gained enough traction to make Carmelo Anthony say he would not accept that possibility.
Enter Charlie Rosen, a trusted friend and confidant of Jackson, who says there is “no chance” that the eleven-time coaching champion will come back to the role that made him one of the most successful and enamored names in NBA history.
Following from Marc Berman of the New York Post:
Charley Rosen, Jackson’s confidant, met with the Zen Master before Sunday’s loss to Sacramento, and told The Post there is “zero percent” chance that proposed home-and-away scenario occurs next season.
“Phil said it’s absolutely not true — there’s no chance he’s going to coach,’’ Rosen told The Post. “It’s total fantasy — an old rumor.’’
While the idea of Phil Jackson coming back to coach the team that he won two rings with as a player and leading it to victory is nice and will likely lead to rumors and speculation for a long time, it has always been unlikely. Jackson no longer feels physically fit to coach during games, let alone travel with the team. And the idea that he could coach half of the team’s games would lead to an unprecedented event that could have incredibly terrible consequences.
This interview seems to at least give some more evidence to the idea that Jackson would never consider coaching again. Rosen speaking out to say this is as close as one could get to Jackson proclaiming it himself, which he has. In the end, it seems that that rumor of Jackson coming back to coach holds very little weight.
