[Strikeout King]

The Knicks removed one interim tag this week, making Glen Grunwald the official executive vice president and general manager. But they still have another tagged to coach Mike Woodson. Which means one of Grunwald's first decisions in his official capacity will be whether or not to keep Woodson or look elsewhere.

The team has obviously played better and won more under Woodson, and while he has the support of Carmelo Anthony and Amar'e Stoudemire, it's not guarantee he's retained. Especially with a pretty big fish floating around on the coaching free agent market. According to the Journal-Times, Phil Jackson is still on the Knicks radar and they're prepared to make a big time offer.

If the Knicks don't advance beyond the first round of the playoffs, I'm hearing they'll make a major -- repeat, major -- push to lure legendary coach Phil Jackson out of retirement. With money being no object, the scuttlebutt is the Knicks brass may offer the 'Zen Master' a four-year, $50 million deal.
Four years and $50 million is more than Rajon Rondo makes. Think about that one.

Jackson has said to be content in retirement and he of course doesn't need more money, but who knows, maybe that kind of cash coupled with the fact he'd be coming full circle to coach the Knicks would be enough to lure him away from his peyote.

I wouldn't place too much stock into it though. The New York rumors have swirled around Jackson since he left the Lakers are he's resisted them pretty outright. I'm sure that kind of money would intrigue him, but he's got to have the desire to come back and coach. If that's not there, or his back and health aren't up for the rigors of NBA travel, then it could probably be four years $100 million and Jackson would pass on it.

But as of now, it's still Woodson's team and he's got the next couple weeks to audition. Pull an upset in the first round, and Knicks fans might forget the name Phil Jackson for a while.




http://www.cbssports.com/nba/blog/eye-on...il-jackson