<div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">PHILADELPHIA - Doug Collins insists he was never in the mix when the Bulls were searching for a head coach last week. But when Bulls general manager John Paxson set out to hire two assistants during the summer, Collins was very much in the mix. In fact, the former Bulls coach, who was here Thursday as a member of the TNT broadcast team, was ready to take the job and willing to sit on Bill Cartwright's bench. "If I was ever going to do it, it would be in a place like Chicago, because my wife loves the city," Collins said. "But Bill was not comfortable with it. I could just feel it. Nothing needed to be said. "And I can understand that, because the minute this (early-season slump) started to happen, all you would have heard about was me. It would have put me in a horrible situation and it would have put him in a tough situation. So it's probably best that it didn't happen." Collins has been the head coach of three NBA teams, while Cartwright was a first-timer beginning his second full season. Collins was wary of the fact that he might be seen as the head coach-in-waiting. "One of the stipulations had that worked out was I would never be the head coach, under any circumstances," Collins said. "I had no desire to be the head coach. I would have gone there as an assistant to be a mentor. God forbid what happened to Bill, I would not have taken the job." Collins is still collecting a nice paycheck from the Washington Wizards, where he was head coach for the past two years and then fired not long after Michael Jordan was shown the door. Paxson played for Collins as a Bull and initiated conversations this summer. "Doug's one of the brightest minds I've ever been around," Paxson said. "He was kind of at that time where he was going to go one of two ways. Get back into broadcasting (was one option). "But he also, when we talked, felt like he had something to give to the game and he liked the idea of being a lead assistant and helping and teaching. I think he would have been terrific at it." Even with his high profile as a player, coach and broadcaster, Collins glowed at the thought of serving as a Bulls assistant. "It was a tremendous thing, because I love basketball, I love to teach and John has always been one of my favorite people," he said. Of course, the biggest "what if" in this scenario is whether the Bulls would have fared any better if Collins were on the coaching staff. Cartwright was fired after a 4-10 start and replaced by Scott Skiles. "I feel badly for Bill," Collins said. "He's wonderful guy and a great gentleman. He brought championships to that city. "I've been fired. It's so easy to see how things are different now and how things have changed with the new coach. But there's also a guy there that doesn't have a job and that's sad." </div> http://www.dailyherald.com/sports/bulls.asp?intID=37960167 I think Collins at assistant would be great. He is pretty good head coach in my mind and would certainly be a good assistant. My only problem with that would probably be the power struggle. With Collins being a head coach, he is probably used to controling the game and the huddles. But beyond that, I think he would be perfect.
speaking of collins, he and harlan seemed very very bored announcing a very good game last night...sorry to be off-topic..
