Boston Celtics: 12 candidates for the head coaching position

Other Names to Watch

Boston Celtics head coach candidate #11: Mark Jackson

Resume:
Golden State Warriors (HC), 2011-14 (fired)

Record:
121-109

Age:
56

Mark Jackson seems to want to get back into coaching, and now a premiere job has opened up. Should the Celtics come calling?

Jackson seemingly helped lay the foundation for what the Golden State Warriors would become under Steve Kerr, but he built up a reputation for not getting along with ownership or the Warriors’ front office in this three years there.

Still, Jackson took a team that had struggled to finish above .500 and went 23-43 in his first season as head coach to getting in the playoffs his second season — the first time for the franchise since 2007 — and winning 51 games in his third season — the most wins for the Warriors since the 1991-92 season.

There’s plenty to nitpick about Jackson, and there are certainly reasons he’s been out of coaching since the Warriors terminated his contract after the 2013-14 season. He’ll be a name that gets mentioned with Boston’s vacancy, though.

Boston Celtics head coach candidate #12: Jay Wright

Resume:
Villanova (HC), 2001-present
Hofstra (HC), 1994-2001

Record:
609-273 (in college)

Age:
59

It seems like every time there’s a noteworthy NBA job that comes open, Villanova’s Jay Wright is mentioned as a possible candidate. That’s already starting to happen with the Celtics’ head coaching position.

Wright has been one of the most successful college basketball coaches over the last decade, winning two national titles with Villanova over the last six seasons and making it to three Final Fours with the Wildcats. Villanova has made it to at least the Sweet Sixteen seven times under Wright, and he’s taken the Wildcats to 15-straight NCAA Tournament appearances after a five-year drought from 2000-04. Before that, Wright was also a successful head coach at Hofstra for seven seasons.

After all this time, though, it’s hard to imagine Wright will ever take an NBA job. Boston has shown they aren’t afraid to dip into the college world to hire a head coach, though, as Brad Stevens went that route himself. Jim O’Brien and Rick Pitino also come to mind.