Alex_De_Large wrote:Didn't Larry Bird succeed as a coach?
True, but he also landed in a great situation: a good, experienced playoff team that got sick of the inevitable Larry Brown's drama. He was smart enough to surround himself with great basketball people.
I don't think Jordan could succeed as a coach, mainly because even 5 years after his retirement, he still has the mentality that he's more capable of getting things done than the players on the court. Being a coach takes a lot of patience. Like a lot of great players, Jordan has virtually no patience with anyone who doesn't perform up to his standards.
Jordan was virtually a player-coach during his second tenure with the Bulls, but that worked because 1.) he was surrounded by good, experienced teammates who were there solely to win 2.) he was capable of carrying his team for long stretches and even entire games 3.) his coach (Phil Jackson) was the yang to his ying. Phil was the mediator and Jordan was the drill sergeant of that team.
The reason his tenure as a player for the Wizards didn't work as well was because it was a young, inexperienced team, he was no longer capable of carrying his team for entire games, and Doug Collins was basically Jordan's lackey, not his equal.
If Jordan wanted to be a successful coach, there would have to be a Phil Jackson-type as his #2, it would have to be on a team with experience, and he would have to dedicate himself to coaching like he did to playing, which he hasn't done as a GM or part-owner.