Jackson won't return as Bulls coach

After six NBA titles in eight years, the running of the Bulls has begun, with coach Phil Jackson the first to say goodbye.

Jackson made good on his pledge that this was his last season, turning down an offer from Chicago chairman Jerry Reinsdorf to coach another year, agent Todd Musburger confirmed Sunday. Jackson's departure was first reported in an interview with Newsweek magazine, which went on sale today.

"I said no, it's time for me to step away and enjoy some different things," Jackson told Newsweek.

"For me, it's the perfect conclusion to a wonderful team. There's nothing we can do to top this anymore. Now it's time to step back from the game for a while."

Neither Jackson, Reinsdorf nor Bulls general manager Jerry Krause returned messages left for them Sunday by the AP. But Reinsdorf told the Chicago Tribune that Jackson was offered a deal for at least his same $6 million salary, regardless of whether Michael Jordan and Scottie Pippen return.

That Jackson left is no surprise. After saying all season this was it - he even coined the Bulls' sixth championship run the "Last Dance" - it was a question of when, not if, he would announce his departure.

So now that he's made it official, what happens to the rest of the Bulls? Jordan, Pippen, Dennis Rodman and six others on the 12-man playoff roster are free agents.

Jordan once said he would only play for Jackson, though he's retreated from that lately. Pippen, unhappy after years of being undervalued and underpaid, has said repeatedly he would rather go somewhere else, but he too has softened his stance. Rodman wants to return, but only if the rest of the gang comes back.

Jackson told Newsweek he thinks Jordan, who scored the title-winning basket as the Bulls beat the Utah Jazz in six games, will retire.

"I can't imagine him doing it again. I don't know but I anticipate that's how he feels," Jackson told Newsweek.

Jordan's decision probably will hinge on who replaces Jackson. Iowa State coach Tim Floyd is a Krause favorite, but it's unlikely Jordan would play for him.

But Jordan would probably play for fellow Tar Heels George Karl or Roy Williams. Karl is out of a job after being fired by the Seattle SuperSonics a few weeks ago. Williams has said many times he's happy at Kansas.

"All of the principles involved have individual reasons for whatever choices they make," Musburger said. "It's an individual decision, and I know if Michael decides to return, he will have Phil's blessing."

In the NBA of the 1990s, where players hop from team to team in search of more money and playing time, the intense loyalty of Jackson's players was unusual, though not surprising.

The ex-hippie and Zen master was a motivator, mediator and basketball maestro all in one, able to blend the egos and personalities of such diverse players and talents like Jordan, Pippen and Rodman. He was able to get through to his players and relate to them with, as Jordan refers to it, "that Zen Buddhism stuff."

He found a style that suited all of them and showcased each of them, and out of that he created a team for the ages.

His style was unique - not many other NBA coaches would go to a bookstore and pick out a book for each of his players before the first West Coast road trip of the year - but it worked. Under Jackson, the Bulls won six titles and the 1995-96 squad went 72-10, the best record in league history.

Jackson has the highest winning percentage of any coach in NBA regular-season (.738) and playoff (.730) history. He was coach of the year in 1996.

Jackson spent 11 of his 13 NBA seasons as a player with the Knicks, and was a member of their 1973 championship team. He worked his way up through the coaching ranks, coaching the Albany Patroons of the CBA for five years - often driving the team van with one hand while working the New York Times crossword puzzle with the other.

He became the Bulls' coach on July 10, 1989, replacing the fired Doug Collins for whom he had been an assistant the previous two seasons.

As for his future, Jackson's name has been penciled in for every NBA vacancy - and suspected vacancies. But Musburger said the coach doesn't have another job, and Jackson told Newsweek he does not expect to coach anywhere next season.

His only plans right now are to leave later this week for a vacation in Turkey with former Knicks teammate and U.S. senator Bill Bradley, who is considering a presidential bid.

"This announcement will not be accompanied by an announcement from another club," Musburger said.

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