NBA News: Golden State Warriors Fire Head Coach Mark Jackson After Three Seasons


In an unsurprising but still idiotic move made by the Golden State Warriors’ management team, Mark Jackson was fired as the head coach of the team on Tuesday. The firing was said to be almost certain really no matter how Jackson and the Warriors did in the NBA Playoffs this season.

As we know, the Warriors and LA Clippers were in a tight series that went to 7 games. Mark Jackson and his Warrior squad were just mere points away from being in the second round of the playoffs. The Warriors managed to upset the Denver Nuggets in last season’s playoffs and got past the first round with a very young team. Jackson did a fantastic job as the head coach of the Warriors according to many experts.

In his three seasons as head coach of the team, he was 121-109 overall. However, despite an abysmal first season, the last two seasons saw playoff births for the Warriors. Mark Jackson led his current Warriors squad to 51 wins this season, and that was a top franchise win record for a regular season. This was done despite the loss of Center Andrew Bogut due to injury.

The funny part of all of this was that Mark Jackson’s Warrior squad made the playoffs two years in a row, but the franchise before him saw only a small amount of playoff appearances in 20 years. So to see a man go who turned around the entire team is crazy. The issue really came to a head this season when Jackson was rumored to have clashed with management. Several off the court issues with them led to a basic uncaring attitude for Jackson.

The organization recognized how well Jackson was doing, so they didn’t want to fire him in the middle of the season, especially because he was doing so well. So no matter how many issues came up, Jackson knew he had a clock ticking on his coaching career with the team.

Jerry West (NBA great) attended a practice in which Jackson told him to not be present, and due to West being a front office administrator, this was yet another issue with Jackson to them. Jackson simply wanted his team to focus on what he was telling hem and not have outside influences, something several coaches have done in the past. The entire management team was simply of the mindset in the middle of the season and potentially before that, that they would fire Jackson.

General Manager Bob Myers had this to say regarding the firing of his head coach:

“Mark has accomplished many good things during his three years with the organization, including his role in helping elevate this team into a better position than it was when he arrived nearly 36 months ago. We’re appreciative of his dedication and commitment since his arrival and are extremely grateful for his contributions. However, as an organization, we simply feel it’s best to move in a different direction at this time.”

So I assume that basically doing something that would get many coaches a raise equals a firing for Mark Jackson? Most would see what Myers just claimed and wonder why Jackson was not having a big contract extension added. Obviously however, decisions were made prior to Jackson really doing anything.

Owner & CEO Joe Lacob had potentially the most lucrative the final say, but even he supported the idea that Jackson did an amazing job, saying:

“Mark Jackson has had a big impact on the improvement of our team and the success that we’ve had over the last couple of years. Nonetheless, we must make some difficult decisions in our day-to-day operations of the club and this would certainly qualify as one of those examples. We wish Mark the best of luck in his future endeavors and thank him for his contributions over the last three years.”

Despite the fact that players such as his star point guard in Steph Curry supported Jackson, and the entire team loved playing for him, management didn’t find it in their best interest to keep him. Several names have been rumored for the job such as Steve Kerr, and even the successful former Memphis coach who was fired randomly from the Grizzlies in Lionel Hollins. It is uncertain who will get the job as of yet however.

The only thing for sure is that Mark Jackson will find another job. Many have been rumoring him for jobs such as the Lakers and Knicks openings, two positions that may target him majorly. Right now, no one knows where Jackson will end up or where the Warriors will go with their next head coach. We do know that both will find their right place or person, when that is has yet to be determined however.

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