Mark Jackson has a multiyear agreement to return as a lead game analyst for ESPN, according to a report from The Associated Press. Although this may be an indicator that Jackson isn’t occupied with any serious coaching opportunities at the moment, the contract would presumably allow for Jackson to return to the bench should he land another head coaching gig. Diamond Leung of Bay Area News Group tweets that Jackson is still in the head coaching mix. Here’s more of the day’s coaching rumors:
- Phil Jackson‘s meeting with Mike Dunleavy Sr. is believed to have been an interview for the Knicks open coaching job, reports Marc Berman of The New York Post.
- A confidant of Derek Fisher tells Berman that the Thunder guard would be open to coaching next season if the right opportunity presented itself. Fisher is considered a leading candidate for the Knicks job.
- Jason Lloyd of The Akron Beacon Journal hears that it would take more than the $25MM contract Steve Kerr just received to lure Kevin Ollie to an NBA coaching job (Twitter link).
Personally, I don’t think Jackson has interest in coaching again. At least this soon. There was talk about Jackson becoming a full time pastor and being with his family. I can see Jackson being a game analyst again instead of coaching. We’ll see.