No thank you
Indiana's Carlisle pulls out of consideration for Bulls job
Posted: Sunday July 19, 1998 02:38 PM
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Rick Carlisle will remain with the Indiana Pacers as an assistant coach (AP) |
INDIANAPOLIS (AP) -- The list for the Chicago Bulls coaching
job has been shortened by the decision of Indiana Pacer's assistant coach
Rick Carlisle to withdraw his name from consideration. The
Indianapolis Star reported Sunday that Carlisle telephoned Jerry
Krause, the Bulls' vice president of basketball operations, on Saturday to
tell him of his decision. Carlisle, 38, has been an NBA assistant
since 1989 with New Jersey and Portland before Pacers coach Larry Bird
hired him last year. Carlisle interviewed with Krause and Bulls
chairman Jerry Reinsdorf on July 7. He is among a small group of people who
had been publicly acknowledged as candidates to replace Phil Jackson, who
led the Bulls to the NBA championship six times in the past eight years.
The other candidates include Indiana native Scott Skiles, a former
Pacers guard who was an assistant coach last season at Phoenix; Iowa State
coach Tim Floyd; and longtime NBA assistants Ron Rothstein and Paul Silas.
The reasons [for withdrawing] purely relate to how I feel about our
players, our ownership, [team president] Donnie Walsh and Larry Bird,"
Carlisle said. "We have a very unusual group of players here, and I believe
those guys are excited about making another run at a championship. There
are just too many positives here." Carlisle directed Indiana's
offense last year. The Pacers pushed Chicago to seven games in the Eastern
Conference finals before falling 88-83 at the United Center. "I've
never known a situation where an assistant coach had total input on what a
team does offensively," Carlisle said. "To me, this is the closest you can
come to being a head coach. This year has given me so much experience about
how to think like a head coach. I couldn't have asked for anything more."
Carlisle said his decision to stay was not influenced by the
possibility of Michael
Jordan's leaving the Bulls. "My decision was based totally on the
positive of being in Indianapolis. I've really come to like living here. I
wouldn't have guessed that a year ago. The people are great in
Indianapolis. I'm going to be here at least another year, and hopefully
longer." Jordan hinted strongly last week that he was ready to
retire without Jackson. The five-time MVP said he wouldn't announce his
final decision until after the NBA's lockout ends. "We'll get it
resolved soon," Reinsdorf said of the coaching situation. "We'll get it
resolved to the satisfaction of all reasonable people." Carlisle has
signed a three-year deal with the Pacers. It allows him to explore head
coaching opportunities, but not other positions as an assistant.
Meanwhile, Skiles told The Star he wasn't sure where he stood on the
list of candidates for the job. The winner of Indiana's Mr.
Basketball award in 1982 after leading Plymouth to the state championship,
spent three hours in Chicago meeting with Reinsdorf and Krause last
weekend. "I thought it was fun, I was very comfortable. ... I can
sit and talk basketball with anybody," Skiles said. "They're [Reinsdorf and
Krause] very thorough, they asked some great questions and they really know
what they're doing."
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