The people wanted a white knight, an above-the-marquee name, a coach for the 76ers who'd ride into town on a fat paycheck, sparking interest among the uninterested - of which, unfortunately, there are many.

Instead, the people got Eddie Jordan.

Many seemed disheartened, skeptical. Some sounded downright angry.

This Jordan guy, what has he done, anyway? Get fired, twice? Accumulate more losses than wins? This is the coach who will take the Sixers from mediocre to contending?

Yes . . . No . . . Maybe . . .

We're months away from knowing, from watching the Jordan-coached Sixers, with his high-IQ motion offense, either dance or stumble down the Wachovia Center floor.

What we do know, what has been distributed ad nauseam, are the numbers - a 230-288 career record, five-plus seasons with the Washington Wizards, a four-year overlap with Sixers general manager Ed Stefanski with the New Jersey Nets. And the subsequent assessment of those numbers - Jordan is a career losing coach fired by the Sacramento Kings and Wizards, whom Stefanski hired because they're buddy-buddy from those Jersey days.

How easy it would be to tell the story of Jordan's inadequacies, of how he hasn't quite made it work - on either coast.

But that's not what those who know him said.

They all seem convinced Jordan is the guy. They sounded passionate, like they're defending their own ability to coach the 76ers, or like Jordan is the favored son, a guy who is watching film when he should be sleeping, then falling asleep mid-conversation, a player who, 30 years ago, played defense like today's players contemplate their next contract - constantly.

They also said Jordan is addicted to basketball. A few even sounded slightly worried, as if Jordan suffers from an affliction they narrowly escaped.

Fast Eddie, Steady Eddie

If we're to chart Jordan's basketball life, it would show Jordan creeping, one seat at a time, sometimes sliding back a seat - as we all do - from one end of the bench to the seat closest to the scorer's table, the one in which you wear a suit and tie and constantly spring to your feet, arguing, imploring, and pointing direction.

Jordan was born in 1955 in Washington. He played at Archbishop Carroll in the nation's capital, earning the nickname "Fast Eddie" because of his quickness as a point guard. He traveled north, to New Jersey, playing from 1973 to '77 for the best basketball teams in Rutgers University history, earning the nicknames "Steady Eddie," because you could always count on him, and "Monty," a shortening of his middle name, Montgomery.

A guy with so many nicknames is usually well-loved.

This seems to be the case.

Jordan played seven seasons in the NBA, won the 1982 NBA championship with the Los Angeles Lakers, and began his coaching career less than 24 hours - and one cross-country, red-eye flight - after playing his final NBA game. He was a voluntary assistant at his alma mater, a part-time assistant at Old Dominion, a full-time assistant at both Boston College and Rutgers.

In 1992, he moved to the NBA, signing as an assistant with the Kings under head coach Garry St. Jean. Midway through his fifth season with Sacramento, St. Jean was removed, Jordan inserted. A little more than one season, and a lot of losses, later, the Kings fired Jordan.

In March 1999, Jordan joined the Nets, where he served as lead assistant for a team that made back-to-back NBA Finals appearances. In the summer of '03, he became head coach in Washington, where he stayed five full seasons and made four playoff appearances before being fired 11 games - and 10 losses - into the 2008-09 season.

Those are the details, the line-by-line resume.