 Coach Tracker The Philadelphia 76ers' hunt for a new head coach will probably take many twists and turns in the coming days and weeks. This post will be updated whenever news breaks. Profiles, updates, links and rumors on the candidates after the jump. About This Page When the team confirms an interview for the position, I'll put a brief profile up at the bottom with links to relevant stories. Whenever news breaks, rumor or otherwise, I'll put the link up under "Updates." If you guys hear anything, leave a link in the comments. I'll bump this post to the top whenever there's a noteworthy update and you can always find the link at the top of the middle column under "Extra Credit" on the home page. Updates
Profiles  Eddie JordanRegular Season Record: 230-288 Playoff Record: 8-18 Best Season: Took Washington to the 2nd round in 2004-05. Blurb: Jordan coached the Kings for two seasons, with poor results. In Washington, he took the Wizards to the playoffs four consecutive years, despite dealing with various injuries, mainly to Gilbert Arenas. He's a proponent of the Princeton offense and has ties to Ed Stefanski dating back to his time as an assistant coach in New Jersey. My Take: 2nd (out of 2) of the confirmed candidates. Status: Jordan was the first coach to interview with the Sixers. He has also interviewed with the Sacramento Kings. Links:
 Tom ThibodeauRegular Season Record: n/a Playoff Record: n/a Best Season: n/a Blurb: Tommy T (as I'll call him for now) is a 19-year assistant who just may earn his first job at the helm of an NBA team. He had a brief run with the Sixers in the pre-Iverson years under John Lucas. He was Jeff Van Gundy's defensive guru in New York and Houston. He's spent the past two seasons in Boston, where he masterminded the Celts stifling defense to a title last season. Van Gundy and Rivers have both given him endorsements. My Ranking: #1 of confirmed candidates. Status: Interviewed on 5/21, confirmed. Links:  Dwane CaseyRegular Season Record: 53-69 Playoff Record: n/a Best Season: Fired by Kevin McHale with a 20-20 record in '06-'07. Blurb: Casey was an assistant for 11 years with the Sonics prior to taking the head coaching job in Minnesota. He spent a couple of years overseas, then joined the Mavs as lead assistant. He cut his teeth under George Karl in Seattle. I really don't know a whole lot more about him. Status: Quietly interviewed by the Sixers on 5/19/09. Reportedly has already been interviewed a second time. My Take: No opinion, yet. Need to hear more about him. I won't count his year-and-a-half in Minnesota against him, since he was dealing with the petulant, team-killing version of KG, not the "gritty warrior" he's made out to be today, and Kevin McHale to deal with. Links:  Kurt RambisRegular Season Record: 24-13 Playoff Record: 3-5 Best Season: Only season. Blurb: Rambis was replaced by Phil Jackson after guiding the Lakers to a strong finish in 1999. He's been on the Lakers' bench as an assistant for the past decade under Phil Jackson. I wonder if he's a proponent of the triangle. Status: Out of the running. My Take: This one came out of the blue. I think they're just leaving no stone unturned. I will say this about Rambis, however, he's spent a lot of time winning. Both as a player and as a coach, he knows what it takes to play excellent basketball. That has to be worth something, right? Links:  Chris FordRegular Season Record: 323-376 Playoff Record: 13-16 Best Season: '91-92. Larry Bird's last season, made it second round of the playoffs. Blurb: Ford took over for Randy Ayers mid-season in 2004, finishing with a record of 12-18. If I remember correctly, Allen Iverson wanted him gone, so he was gone. But BK kept him on as a scout, which ruffled Iverson's feathers. Status: Yet another quiet interview. My Take: Ford inherited the Celts for the final two years of McHale and Bird, kept them afloat, since then he's coached nothing but losers. The only plus I can see on his resume is that he's part of the Sixers' organization, so he should be familiar with the roster. Personally, I don't think that's much of a plus at all. He goes to the bottom of my list with Eddie Jordan. Links: 
Latest Posts• The Truth About Sam • Dei Is Out, Donyell In • 10 Games at a Time • Sixers Preseason Stats • Depressed Fan Field Trip • Sixers Hosed By N.J. • Does This Sound Familiar? • Putting A Bow on the Preseason • Rough Day For Christmas • Anyone In New York? • Sixers Pick Up Three Options • And Then There Were 13SearchBlogs in The NetworkSixers BlogsPassion and Pride Sixers 4 Guidos Liberty Ballers Recliner GM PhillyArena Heard In The Cheap SeatsSilver Dollar Slots | ||||||||||||||
I think they'll interview 4 coaches and make their decision. Looks like we'll have our coach by the first week of June. No idea who is the best candidate. Have to trust the Ed's on this one. Thibodeau does have an interesting resume and the support of some major superstars.
Casey has the Collins effect in reverse. His team in Minny got a lot worse after he was fired. I guess he was doing something right.
As for TT- sounds like a good choice, but I hope he would bring with him an innovative offensive mind. Someone like Elston (who also looks like a good candidate.) I want to see on offense something like the Princeton or Read and React offense. Something that does not require a pure PG and can utilize Iguodala's skillset.
After reading a lot more about Thibodeau, he has become my co-leader in the clubhouse with Turner. There are 3 things I like about Thibodeau: His Defensive pedigree and knowledge, his proven ability to help players develop on both ends(i.e Yao, Kobe), and the bonus feature is that hiring him hurts the Celtics.
Thibodeau sounds like a good candidate no doubt - but he's not a panacea that will cure all the ills on this team.
He gets a lot of credit for the defense - but how much credit should go just to getting better players - and with better players comes better respect from the refs - what players have improved defensively under Thibodeau? How were the celtics defensively before they got KG and Ray Allen...did the number of fouls called on the celtics go down after they got more super stars?
Why when he was the hot name last year did Tom T not get a job? Did he not want them? Did he interview badly? Was he picky? Was Ainge unwilling to let him interview?
THere's a lot of questions I have about Thibodeau and I always am wary of guys who don't have any head coaching experience (has he been a head coach anywhere) because head coach is just different than assistant and not everyone can handle it.
As far as I'm concerned, his interview is more important than Jordans
I wrote up a little bit on Tom T on my blog. But last year word is the Bulls and Knicks simply didn't want to wait until after the Finals to interview Thibodeau nor do I think he should interview during a playoff run. From my understanding these interviews are intense and you need to have done your research and prepare your plan. No way an assistant has time to do that and worry about winning the next game in the playoffs at the same time.
The better question is why didn't he get the Sacramento Kings job in 2007 when he interviewed over Reggie Theus.
Now see I didn't know about that one - but if you think about it - Thibodeau wasn't a'hot name' until after the 07/08 regular season and the celtics great run and I wonder how much 'credit' he really deserves on that versus just having a better roster and being one of the 'good' teams instead of the bad ones so the refs might be more favorable to them?
I'm not saying he's not good I just think there's an awful lot of hype for this guy.
I'm in favor of a defensive coach, but I can't say I was impressed with the Celts' defense in the playoffs this season. I thought the Sixers did a better job with worse pieces (according to the powers that be) than Boston did on the Magic. And they just got torched by the Bulls.
So how much 'credit' / 'blame' goes to Thibodeau and how much is just the changed roster having defensive players? That's what I'm saying. Without KG the celtics looked pretty 'pedestrian' defensively - but KG makes them better defensively because he's better defensively and the 'aura' allows them to get away with more on the court? Could be possible...that's why I have reservations about any 'hot name' - cause there's a lot of hype and he might be getting credit he didn't deserve...why couldn't the 'genius' thibodeau adjust against the magic? Or game plan to stop the bulls better? Did he try and the peices weren't right on the roster without KG or was it just that he couldn't?
All good questions. I mean, look position-by-position and tell me who has the better defender:
PG: Rondo or Miller
SG: Allen or Willie
SF: Iguodala or Pierce
PF: Big Baby or Thad
C: Perkins or Dalembert
I'd say the layman gives the Celtics a big advantage at PG, SG and C. Some people would give Pierce the nod over Iggy and Big Baby/Thad is probably a wash, especially considering how poor Thad's D was in the first round.
Well, I think of at least one player who defended much better in Boston then he ever did elsewhere: Ray Allen. Though he had stretches where he struggled(see Chicago series). The schemes limited the chances of isolating him, though. Also, Pierce stepped up his game on that end, Perkins improved boatloads on that end. Davis did as well.
The Bulls torched them because Ray Allen cannot guard Gordon, who was hitting crazy shots over doubles. Fortunately for the Celtics, the reverse proved true, which is why they won. Thibodeau's history features a myriad of teams and players who, with only few exceptions, played high-quality d for him. Good sign.
That argument could and has been made for most, if not all coaches in general. Coaches probably get too much credit and too much blame for the outcomes of games.
It's an age old argument of how much a coach actually impacts wins and losses.
Do players make great coaches (Phil Jackson) or to great coaches make themselves?
With that said I agree I wish there was more negative press about this guy. He seems too good to be true. But that won't come until he is in the saddle. Both players and coaching peers a like rave about this guy.
I am willing to go out on a limb and say being apart of 15 different teams reaching the top 10 in defense is at least much more favorable in terms of being around winning/playing the right way for any coach compared to the alternative. So I assume it's a matter of time before TT gets a lead gig. Should it be with us or someone else is really the question.
I prefer TT over the other guys at this point because I just want to see something/someone new, different and with potential (thinking Eric Spolstra-like). Just rather see an up and comer than stale bread.
Doug Collins is overrated in my opinion and too much of a diva and control freak to mesh well with Stefanski.
Avery Johnson has what 4 years coaching experience total with a lot of regular season wins but also had the luxury of stepping in to a team that had won (on pace in 04-05 when he finished the last 18 games and playoffs) 52+ games 5 seasons before he took the job. Got to a finals, had his team with a 2-0 lead and up 13 with just over 6 minutes left and lost 4 straight. Followed that up with a great 67 win season only to lose in the first round as the team with by far the best record in the NBA. Got one more chance and lost in the first round again. How much credit and blame should we give to Johnson?
Eddie Jordan in my opinion is a matter of preference. Do you want offense or defense? He is the offensive version of Thibodeau. But what we do know is as a leading man he has never be able to get his teams to play defense well-enough to get to the next level and compliment his offensive genius although he actively preached the importance of defense in the media results never followed.
Pick a smart coach with a nice resume and some potential to exceed expectations and hope for the best. Focus on getting more talent and fixing the talent mix.
Well yeah i agree on the how much difference does a coach make thing.
Here's my thing about eddie jordan - sure he doesn't have rings - but that shouldn't be the measure of him.
Did he get more out of the wizards roster than he reasonably should have when they were healthy? I believe he did - that's a mediocre team that would be lucky to get out of the first round of the playoffs - he was fired due to injuries and a gm trying to save face for bad off season signings (in my opinion) giving arenas that monster contract after missing one season and then he misses another? That GM should be canned.
Wasn't the the primary assistant when the nets went to the finals two years in a row? The New Jersey nets went to the finals two year in a row folks - think about that for a minute - how much of that was just roster additions kidd and carter, how much of that was scott, how much of that was jordan.
Then there's the 'larry brown' effect - same roster (mostly) with rick carlisle pistons get so far - next season they win the title - only real major change (i think) is larry brown right? So he had to have some impact didn't he?
The 'impact' of a manager has been measure deeply in MLB and it's been found that managers at most have a +/-2 wins/losses on the season (that's less than 2% of the games) - unless they're really really bad or really really good but even then their impact is minimal usually.
It's hard to measure the impact from the outside which is why i'm not excited or depressed about any of the candidates - they have their plusses and minuses really
at least it ain't mo
If Thibodeau is on a one-year contract with Boston, is it completely out of the question that he could be brought in as an assistant in Philly, if he doesn't get the HC spot?
I think so, because I think he is actually from the New England area(Conn. I think). So, I don't believe he'd make a lateral move to leave a place where he is revered and is a homecoming of sorts.
I don't think you can say, there are various factors, including salary and promises, maybe they say 'behind closed doors' that he's the next head coach if he demonstrates ability, and the hire doesn't work out, docs established in boston for a few years at least
I think it's out of the question. For a couple reasons.
1. While Snider and Stefanski have said money isn't an issue for the head coach I strongly doubt they are willing to over bid enough to snag a top assistant when they still have to pay Cheeks contract for next season.
2. By all accounts he isn't a jump ship type of guy. He stuck with JVG for a long time, I am willing to believe that is the same situation in Boston. He actually accepted an assistant position with the Wizards and before he signed the deal Doc and the Celtics got a hold of him and made and offer and he retracted his commitment to Washington to go to Boston.
3. I think the locale does play a part as well. Which is actually why I think Philly is a good spot for head coaching job as well since he is still Northeast.
After reading Dannie's writeup (great read if you haven't read it yet, do read it), and researching on my own afterwards, I am happy with Thibodeau. As I said before, I would rather go with an up and coming and try to "shock the world" than a retread.
I also would rather have a coach that focuses on defense and hire a shooting coach than the opposite.
But, given that, I still would be ok w/ EJ,Turner or DougC. Not real thrilled with AJ or DwayneC.
My biggest concern is we don't hire TT and he succeeds greatly and we remain mediocre.
Wish Ed would be a little less close to the vest with the whole process similar to how Sacramento has been. Throw the fans a bone.
They confirmed that Casey is going to be interviewed.
Never understood this thinking and was never interested in it, when you throw the fans a bone you 'reveal' your intentions publicly and thoughts publicly and in a job search you don't do that...the fans will get their 'bone' when they get to know who the new coach is - i'd run my organization the same way...
the kings are public cause kings owerns are egotistical glory seeking publicity whores
I wonder what the press release about Reggie Theus said before they hired him.
Casey emailed me back but wouldn't say anything: "Any information has to come from the 76ers. I am sorry and I understand you are doing your job. I hope you understand."
Think Kings are doing it the right way, in this case. Sixers would do well to keep their fans in the loop, at least a little bit.
I disagree wholeheartedly for reasons stated above. Too much risk in things going wrong if you make things public that will backlash on you from the fans.
The fans are a little bit too 'entitled' in their own minds.
I had asked when he was interviewing and what he thought of the opportunity.
They confirmed that he would be interviewed, but not when. Honestly, I just want them to make whatever decision they think is best for the team. I don't really care if we're in the loop. It's nice to know who's up for the job, beyond that, we can do our own research on the guys who get interviewed.
That being said, I still don't have any kind of grasp on Casey. Offensive? Defensive? George Karl disciple?
I don't know that much about Casey -- just that he played at Kentucky and started coaching there.
Heard a radio report that the Sixers contacted the Lakers about Kurt Rambis for an interview once the playoffs are done.
I can only support that move if he wears the specs.
I wonder if some of these interviews are to fill out the coaching staff.
Mike Miss on Espn950 stated:
1. Ed in LA to talk to Kurt Rambis
2. See Henderson and Ellington
3. He stated the Ed will not hire an unemployed head coach.
4. Believes TT is the front runner and will interview near or at the end of his search.
Seems like he knows what he is saying, quoting inside contacts.
Interesting. I don't like blanket statements like, won't hire an unemployed head coach. Fine w/ the rest of it.
Sort of surprised we haven't hear anything about Elston Turner now that the Rockets are eliminated. Sounds like the type of asst at least worth a look.
I will be shocked if they do not interview him. I am guessing it is just not leaked yet, IMO. It looks like Ed is interviewing EVERY breathing possiblity after seeing him interview Casey!
Sixers just confirmed they interviewed Casey today. Not wasting a lot of time.
Ed's moving quick. I like that, no stone unturned.
Wow. Rambis, too. Sixers confirmed it.
Seriously folks - all these names is so short a time - how much talking can Ed really be doing - how in depth can the interview be?
Probably not a whole lot. Seems like he's meeting w/ a bunch of guys, then maybe he narrows it down and does a second round w/ the guys who made a good first impression.
How long do you think the interviews last? Few hours per interview. Can interview a guy a day if he wants. I would have each recorded so I can go back and listen for clarity.
More about giving the candidate a little notice to prepare his plan and view of the Sixers specifically to pitch.
Word is they put in the requested to speak to Thibodeau last week and the news didn't come out about that until this week. Not sure how prepared Rambis could have been unless he knew this was coming a week ago.
This is a great idea IMO. Read it on Delawareonline:
We all can agree that the Sixers need to move on without Samuel Dalembert, right? But he has a hefty contract that makes him difficult to move, right? Well, it so happens that the Houston Rockets could use a backup center since Yao Ming is injury-prone and Dikembe Mutombo had to retire. They would love to get a center with starting experience, who would be better than the typical backup. And it also so happens that they would love to move on without Tracy McGrady. While it's true that McGrady is coming off knee surgery, he does have an expiring contract next season worth $23M. The Sixers would probably have to add a second player, such as Lou Williams or (def imo) Willie Green to get the salaries to match.
Even if McGrady doesn't play next year, the Sixers could let him walk and be well under the salary cap for 2010. No, they won't have a prayer to get LeBron James. But what about Chris Bosh or someone like that?
And if McGrady is healthy enough to play, then you have a versatile shooting guard to go along with Andre Iguodala, Thaddeus Young and Elton Brand. That's not bad, either.
It's a trade that would make sense for both sides, and there aren't too many of those in the NBA involving high-salaried players.
I have serious, serious doubts that Houston, a team very much into advanced stats, would take on the remainder of Lou's contract. I also doubt they'd give up that expiring contract for another year of Sammy.
still a great idea if they would take Sammy and Willie! Atleast I can dream??
lol and your one of the guys that thought that it would be dumb to get rid of Sammy for just a 2nd round pick if possible ala Camby! How dumb does that sound now Dean? Sounds more like a pipe dream for us. Why would the Rockets take those losers off of our hands and be saddled with their contracts for 2 years when they could just play out the season with T-Mac and then let him walk saving themselves a cool 23 million?
You miss my point, Greek! I was quoting from another site. Just passing it on.
Yeah - the nuggets were real dumb to give up camby for the cap room and a second round pick - look how badly their season turned out.
That's an interesting point though - Sam Dalembert might be no more valuable in a trade than Marcus Camby was.
Just read on CSN, D Lyman stated in closing:
"I have been told it is a woman’s prerogative to change her mind, but I will stick with my original winner and say Casey in a photo finish with Jordan."
Casey? Really? I don't know, not my first choice at this point.
I agree with you 100% but you can read it yourself at csnphilly.com. Will not be happy if that is the case, btw.
Yeah, I don't think it's based on anything, though. Just a feeling. She isn't quoting sources or anything.
Like Casey's resume. Must be a great communicator and excellent at adapting based upon his Japan experience. Hey, NBA head coaching experience, World experience. Why not!
Yeah, maybe we'll have the inside track on all the Japanese NBA prospects :)
So did anyone notice that the folks at the inquirer were so bored recently they reran all the articles from the 2001 finals? I bet that sold a lot of papers
Yeah, I kept seeing these weird headlines on Twitter, like Sixers Dream The Impossible Dream. Got excited for a second.
I get the sense that Ed wants to hold onto as much control as possible. He wants a coach who is a "communicator." The implication is how he interacts with players...but I think Ed equally wants a coach who talks and listens to his GM. Ed want to control the direction, the basic strategy, the personnel.
Maybe I am over-reading into this? But I think a lot of established, big ego coaches would not want to work under ed's shadow.
Thibodeau reportedly will interview with the Kings as well.
I guess Jordan trying to 'push' one of the teams to hire him didn't go over well and I wouldn't be surprised if he gets neither job.
Sixers just confirmed they interviewed Thibodeau today.
Posted on the other thread, too: A source close to the situation confirmed Friday morning that the Sixers also interviewed Jay Wright and Chris Ford, with additional interviews to come.
OK, so are they just randomly picking names to make fans happy?
Jay Wright and Chris Ford are the bottom of the candidate barrell in my opinion.
It's starting to feel real circusey now. Quite the whirlwind tour.
Dick Jerardi / Phil Jasner over at philly.com mentioned a number of other possible candidates, but I was intrigued by Popovich's top lieutenant. "The Sixers are not through with the interview process. A source close to the situation told the Daily News' Phil Jasner that the Sixers plan to contact fomer Dallas coach Avery Johnson and possibly current TNT analyst Doug Collins.
The source said there had initially been internal discussions about contacting San Antonio assistant Mike Budenholzer, who was a finalist for the Phoenix job that went to Terry Porter. It remains unclear whether the team will follow through. There is no apparent frontrunner at this point."
Here were some links on Budenholzer:
http://www.nba.com/coachfile/mike_budenholzer/index.html
http://www.sactownroyalty.com/2009/4/10/829790/the-case-for-mike-budenholzer
http://www.azcentral.com/sports/suns/articles/2008/06/02/20080602suns0603.html
http://www.realgm.com/boards/viewtopic.php?t=789281
Philadelphia Daily News reports Johnson was contacted but rumor indicates he wasn't interested in being part of a 'wide ranging' search - ah - Avery - your ego will keep you out of work for a while
Jasner at the Philly Daily News said that Jordan has gotten a 2nd interview, he also believes that Thibodeau might not be a candidate anymore(I disagree).
http://www.philly.com/philly/sports/sixers/20090528_Sixers_talk_again_with_Jordan__Casey.html
Fagan at the Inq believes John Kuester and Elston Turner are going to be contacted as well
http://www.philly.com/philly/sports/sixers/20090528_Ed_Stefanski_meets_again_with_Dwane_Casey.html