CHICAGO -- Doug Collins lost his job as coach of the Chicago Bulls because of a falling out with team owner Jerry Reinsdorf and general manager Jerry Krause, published reports said Friday.
Observers agreed Phil Jackson, a Bulls assistant coach, is the leading candidate to replace Collins -- the second-winningest coach in Bulls history, who was fired Thursday.
Reinsdorf and Krause declined to be any more specific about the reasons for firing Collins other than to cite 'philosophical differences.'
Both said they hope to 'offer the job to our first choice in the near future.'
Collins also declined comment on the surprise Thursday morning meeting in which he was informed his services no longer were needed, despite a year remaining on his contract with the NBA franchise.
Speculation about what led to the philosophical differences centered on clashes with Krause over player selection and similar disputes with Reinsdorf.
Collins' lack of regard for former Bulls player Brad Sellers and current center Will Perdue were notable among the 'philosophical differences,' sources said.
'You know what I think of when I hear that? I think, 'Not playing the No. 1 draft choice,'' a source close to the team told the Chicago Tribune. Perdue was the Bulls' top pick in 1988. Krause was reluctant to play either Perdue or Sellers, a first-round choice in 1986.
An unidentified source told the Chicago Sun-Times, 'It was something (Collins) did that greatly upset the top man (Reinsdorf) and not Jerry Krause.'
'Maybe Krause and Collins did not like each other that much. But it wasn't Krause's decision to fire Collins,' one unidentified player told the Sun-Times.
The Bulls finished the regular season with a 47-35 record in fourth place in the Central Division. They upset Cleveland in the playoffs and beat New York before losing in six games to the Pistons in the Eastern Conference finals. The Pistons went on to become the NBA champions.
On May 23, 1986, Collins became the Bulls' ninth coach at age 36, then the league's second youngest coach. He compiled a regular-season record of 137-109. In the year before he took over, the Bulls posted a mediocre 30-52 mark. But in 1986-87, they improved to 40-42 and the 1987-88 season saw the team climb to 50-32.
Collins, a native of Benton, Ill., starred at Illinois State University, where he became the Redbirds' career scoring leader and was a No. 1 draft pick. He played eight years for the Philadelphia 76ers, averaging 17.9 points a game. He made the NBA All-Star team four times.
