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NBA: Greatest head coach in each team’s franchise history

By Josh Cornelissen

Gregg Popovich, Manu Ginobili, San Antonio Spurs. (Photo by Thearon W. Henderson/Getty Images)
Gregg Popovich, Manu Ginobili, San Antonio Spurs. (Photo by Thearon W. Henderson/Getty Images) /
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Phil Jackson, Chicago Bulls
Phil Jackson, Chicago Bulls. (Photo by Nathaniel S. Butler/NBAE via Getty Images) /

Greatest head coach in Chicago Bulls history: Phil Jackson, 1989-98

For some NBA teams, finding the best head coach is sorting through a stack of similar candidates with grim resumes, or conversely trying to take one future Basketball Hall of Famer over another. For the Chicago Bulls, there is and probably always will be just one answer.

Phil Jackson was a championship-winning player before going into coaching, eventually becoming an assistant coach under Doug Collins in 1987. Although an accomplished coach himself, Collins and a roster headlined by Michael Jordan could not break through an Eastern Conference run by the Boston Celtics and the Detroit Pistons.

In 1989, Jackson took over and instituted his peculiar, but effective triangle offense and deploying Jordan, Scottie Pippen and the rest of the roster in just the right way to find success. Jackson would lead the Bulls to six championships, the second-most all time with one franchise (Red Auerbach won nine with the Celtics).

The Bulls have had other periods of success, with coaching legends such as Johnny Kerr, Dick Motta and Jerry Sloan all coaching the team at various times. But in the playoffs, every Bulls team flamed out. No coach other than Jackson has a winning record in the postseason. He owns a whopping 60 percent of the franchise’s playoff wins with 111.

No other Bulls coach comes close to touching his production or the titles he brought home. Jackson has a case as the greatest coach in NBA history. He is certainly the greatest coach in Bulls history.