Larry Brown Mentioned As Potential Bulls Coach, But Don't Bet On It

Per a short note in the Philadelphia Inquirer, picked up by the Daily Herald, former Sixers/Pistons/Knicks coach Larry Brown has been mentioned as a possible coaching candidate for the Chicago Bulls next season, who are 11-13 under interim coach Jim Boylan after Scott Skiles was fired on December 25 2007. After taking some time off to recharge, Brown is allegedly feeling the itch to coach again. "I love coaching, I love being in the gym, being around coaches," Brown said. "I never had any friends other than people I worked with. I am pretty confident I will (coach) in some capacity, whether it's an assistant coach, or involved in a franchise in some way, or possibly get back to (head) coaching."

Brown took numerous Philadelphia 76ers teams to the playoffs in his stint there, and then coached the Detroit Pistons to an NBA championship win in 2004. Brown then left the Pistons to sign a 5-year $50 million contract to coach the New York Knicks in 2005, where he led the Knicks to a dissapointing 23-59 record, often juggling lineups and publicly battling with his players through the media, before being fired after one year on the job. After refusing to pay the remaining 4 years and $40 million owed to Brown, the Knicks eventually reached a buyout settlement worth $18.5 million. "I don't feel really good about the way it ended (in New York)," Brown recently said.

The Bulls will be looking or a long term solution for their coaching position this offseason, and Larry Brown's stints have historically been anything but long term. At the tender age of 67, he isn't the most ideal fit for the Bulls' plans, and is more likely to take a job with someone like the Charlotte Bobcats, 'possibly for his buddy Michael Jordan.' The Bobcats players may be on the verge of tuning out rookie coach Sam Vincent, and seem to play with little emotion or organization on the way to their current 18-33 record, filled with numerous losing streaks. The Bobcats' roster is full of young bloods who need a strong leader and someone to whip them into shape to make a playoff run, and Brown fits that mold exactly, and wouldn't be required past this building phase for Charlotte.