This is a question for sports historians. Who was/is a better coach, Phil Jackson or Red Auerbach? Who had more to work with? Who won more with less?

Now this is a tough question but we have to ask if Phil was a coack back then and REdd was a coach now what would their records be like???? :driveby:

it's a very hard choice here but i would have to lay my pennies on Phil !
we have too a scrapy BULLS team and made them Champion and then
was able to cross the drama of L.A into glory boys and win RED was a great
coach as well he had some talented players now with the Lakers today Phil
has some top flight players too i have to go with Phil Jackson

Red has always been critical of Phil, and claims that the only reason Phil wins so much is because he had superior talent: Jordan & Pippen with the Bulls, Shaq & Kobe with the Lakers. This is a biased view because Red also had top talent during his years with the Celtics: Russell, Cousy, etc. I give Phil the nod, because he won with 2 different teams, against better competition.

On a side note both coaches are tied with 9 titles....if the Lakers win this year Phil will be the sole leader with 10 titles.

I have to go with Phil Jackson. Red had superior talent in what was technically an inferior league if you compared it too now. And if you put any of Phil's Teams against Red's they would slaughter them.

And also guys.....

Phil Jackson Built the Bulls didn';t he? Jordan and Pippen them did not just start winning in their rookie years.

if you put any of Phil's Teams against Red's they would slaughter them.And also guys.....Phil Jackson Built the Bulls didn';t he? Jordan and Pippen them did not just start winning in their rookie years.

To say that Phil's teams would slaughter Red's teams is an understatement; however, some people (usually senior citizens) swear up & down that the Celtics of the 60s could beat anyone.

Phil did build the Bulls, but Red also built the Celtics. Red claims that Phil had great teams handed to him, which isn't true. Before Phil came to the Bulls...Doug Collins would always have them out in the second round.....the same with Del Harris and the Lakers. Phil took both teams and put them in the Finals.

I'm sure no one enjoyed the NBA Finals (and Detriot's victory) more than Red.

I WOULD HAVE 2 SAY PHIL. BEING THAT HE WON AN ERROR OF SUPERIOR ATHELETES COMPARED 2 REDS ERROR . TODAY THERE ARE MORE TEAMS, A LONGER SCHEDULE (CORRECT ME IF IM WRONG), AND A THREE POINT LINE.

You are correct Therious, there were less teams & a shorter season in Red's day. Also the league was less talented, which meant less competition. Winning 8 titles in a row is impressive...but it also suggests a lack of competition.

Guys, I'd actually make the case that Larry Brown is a better coach than either of these men, in that he took team(s) of lesser talent, and always produced winners of them all... Remember, this is the man who took the lowly L.A. Clippers to their first and only NBA playoff series... And though it has been a long time gone ago, he also took the New Jersey Nets to a couple of playoff experiences when they, too, had not seen too much action in the NBA post season... Coach Brown is my greatest coach ever!

Peace!
Isaiah

Hmmm....the jury is still out on that one. Larry Brown is a good coach, undoubtedly. However, I think one has to win more than 1 championship to be considered for this honor (not to mention that it took Brown 20 years to win his 1st championship). Let's see if Coach Brown can led the Pistons to back to back titles.

larry brown isa good coach, but he only has one pro ring. you could throw pat riley in. if u ask me, the lakers should hire byron scott1

Brothers Therious and PanAfrica, great coaching, in my humble opinion, is not simply measured in winning Championships with great players, as Auerbach, Jackson, and Riley all did. Great coaching can be measured also by the fact that Larry Brown has won wherever he's gone, and he's won with the talent he had... There is not one future hall of famer on his present roster, and yet he won the title this year. I say, let Phil Jackson coach the Clippers, and get them into the playoffs with their current cast of players, and then I'll say he's doing some coaching... Guys, remember, those two years Jordan was out, did the Bulls win any championships???(smile)
Peace!
Isaiah

Guys, remember, those two years Jordan was out, did the Bulls win any championships???(smile)

I think the two Jordan-less years Phil coached the Bulls are examples that Phil is a better coach than people give him credit for. The 1st year, the Bulls took the eventual Eastern Conference Champs, the New York Nicks, to 7 game limit (in a series where they didn't have home court advantage). If it wasn't for a very questionable call against Scottie Pippen in game 5 of that series, the Bulls could have won (not only that series but the NBA title).
In the 2nd year, Jordan came back around playoff time, and threw the Bulls chemistry off. That Jackson took the Bulls to the playoffs without Jordan was indeed a great coaching accomplishment.

by far i think Phil Jackson is one of the top five greatest coach
pan you are right true the Bulls could have won another title without
Jordan and it was Jordan who lost it for them in the 2 year when he made
is return now Pat Raliy is a winner he has taken what he had to a title
and indeed Red is a true coach i think Phil can coach anyone and make them
jell and be a complete team it's not how many titles they win but how they
help lead teams into a title shot !

Brother Pan, nah, I don't think you can just say they would've beaten the Rockets like that(smile!) The following year, if you recall, those same Rockets swept the Orlando Magic, after they'd handily destroyed the Bulls with Jordan, so I don't think you're giving the Rockets their propaz, papa(smile!)

I'll give you the job Phil did following Jordan's departure - for one year only, and that's 1994... The following year, with the same team, the Bulls were lanquishing just above the 500. mark before MJ's return... Now that's with the same roster, and you can check the record yourself... My point about Larry Brown is that he's NEVER had the kind of talent that Phil has had, or Riley has had, but he's always done an excellent job of taking his teams beyond their expectations... As a man, and as a coach, he's done what Phil has steadfastly refused to do, and that is take on a team with lesser talent, or no talent at all, and raise the level of their play... Phil, one of my favorite Knicks when he played here, fears that taking on a team of lesser talent, and failing to do the job, will tarnish this championship mystique he's aquired... I don't fault the man for wanting to keep his reputation untarnished, but a man who's afraid to take on challenges of that sort is a man whom I cannot respect as the best...

You know Pan, I RESPECT a Larry Brown or a Bill Walsh, who went back to Stanford to coach the Cardinal after winning 4 Super Bowls with the Niners... These cats dig coaching, and are not caught up in their reps and egos... Another guy who I think gets no props for being a wonderful coach is brother Dennis Greene, and he's gonna turn that moribund Phoenix Cardinal franchise around quite soon...

But Black aint won no championships, and when he had the opportunity, his Vikings team was upset by the Falcons, and Dan Reeves - yet another coach who never won a Super Bowl, but always had the Broncos playing in the Super Bowl(4 times)... Now, I think that's doing some mighty fine coaching, but folks are caught up in jewelry... That's nonsense to say that one is not doing a great job because he finishes 2nd or 3rd..

On a final note, Larry Brown is the ONLY coach to have won both a NCAA and NBA championship... None of the cats y'all are mentioning ever did that...(smile!)

Peace!
Isaiah

that's a great feat for Brown and many of the NBA coach haven't had the
luxurious moments to coach in the NCAA but i give it up to him he is a great coach
a pure leader but phil is also a great coach

U MAKE SOME GOOD POINTS ISAIaH, LARRY BROWN HAS DONE A NICE JOB WITH NO SUPER STARS. BUT AT THE SAME TIME, DO U THINK JACKSON WOULD HAVE HAD THE PROBLEMS W/ IVERSON THAT ITS REPORTED BROWN HAD?AFTER ALL HE DIDNT TRIP ON RODMANS GAME.

I AGREE DENNIS GREEN SHOULD DO A GOOD JOB WITH THE CARDNALS, HE IS A GREAT AT PICKING TALENT, IN DRAFT SITUATIONS.

Brother Therious, I believe Larry coached Dennis Rodman for a hot minute as coach of the San Antonio Spurs, and If I recall, he Rod Strickland, my hotheaded homeslice was on that team as well... This year, he coached the very hotheaded Rasheed Wallace, and you've seen the results...

We can talk about Phil's handling of of players, such as his relationship with Kobe, who says he would opt of Los Angeles if Phil remained the coach. Allen Iverson is my man, but the cat was mad disruptive, and as a coach managing 11 other players, you can't have one player behaving as if he is above all the rest, missing practices while everyone else is always there, and on time... It's about some discipline, but more importantly, Larry had to show the other cats that he respected them, and was not playing favorites...

As regards Phil, and say, Dennis Rodman, we know who kept that cat in check, and it wasn't just Phil - trust... One of coach Brown's problems in Philly was the failure of their team leaders to step up to the plate, and challenge Allen to be the star that he is on all levels, and that includes being a responsible man... Larry had to play the heavy there, because of cat's cowardice... I noticed, too, that with the departure of the Robert Horry's and Ron Harper's, and with Rick Fox not playing the pivotal leadership role he has in the past, the SHOW fell apart in L.A.... That must be taken into consideration as part of Phil's legacy, as well... On the whole, personality conflicts are a part of all of our private and professional lives... If a coach doesn't succeed in handling a particular player well, then you can't win 'em all...

Witness Bill Parcell's handling of the recent blowup with the receiver who's name escapes me at the moment...(smile!) Bill has always had these kind of confrontations with certain players, like L.T., Curtis Martin, Kerry Glenn, and Phil Simms, and he's come up clean on most accounts... But this brother wasn't having none of his nonsense, and threw, and almost hit Parcells, with his jersey and pads(LOL!) I love it, love it, love it! Man after my own heart, so I should remember the cat's name, but that's likely how I might've handled a Bill Parcells in my youth, 'cause I was a serious hothead, too... Once again, however, Bill has come up roses with most of these confrontations, so I cannot fault him for what happened recently... Who knows, he may just keep this guy around because Bill likes guys with that sort of spirit... He brings in guys like Brian Cox, Pepper Johnson, and Keyshawn, because he likes cats with that kind of emotional fire... Y'all remember Jim Burt???(smile!)

Peace!
Isaiah

i can only agree isaiah coach brown has had some renegade brothers to deal with. lets just see where he is when my man sheed comes to the knicks this year. along with kobe, hopefully. on second though kobe aint going know where, i wouldnt if i was him. thats if he doesnt go up state! which i doubt he will. but on the real i respect l. brown,.

I believe Larry Brown is one of the best coaches (if not the best) simply because the guy knows how to win. Nevermind that he only has one championship. There are guys riding the bench that barely play and they got championship rings. Rings mean nothing. The fact that Brown wins wherever he goes, no matter what kind of team he has says it all. If you judged a guy on rings then Reggie Miller, Charles Barkley, Patrick Ewing are failures compared to Rick Fox, Tony Kukoc and Derek Fisher. The fact that he can get his guys together to compete is more respectable than just coaching a team that's already a strong playoff contender. He's had so-so players on Detroit, Indiana and Philly and he managed to make them better than they should've been. He even got the Clippers to the playoffs one year. That says it all. :laugh: