Collins agrees to 4-year deal
Doug Collins has agreed to terms of a contract to coach the 76ers.
Collins agrees to 4-year deal
Doug Collins has always said Philadelphia is a ''special place'' for him. Now we know how special. The former 76ers star, according to an NBA source with knowledge of the situation, has agreed to terms to coach them. An announcement is expected Friday, and a formal introduction is likely to come Monday.
A second NBA source said Collins' contract is for four years.
The source indicated that Brian James, an assistant with Collins in Detroit and Washington, will join the Sixers' staff. There is speculation that current Sixers assistant Aaron McKie, who played for Collins in Detroit, is likely to be elevated.
John Langel, Collins' agent, declined to comment.
Collins, 58, is the Sixers' seventh coach since Larry Brown departed.
Collins, one of the best TV analysts, has been working the NBA's Western Conference finals between the Los Angeles Lakers and the Phoenix Suns.
He played all eight of his injury-plagued career with the Sixers, joining them as the No. 1 overall pick in the 1973 draft. He has previously coached the Chicago Bulls, the Detroit Pistons and the Washington Wizards. In each of those situations, in his first season he took the team to at least 10 more more victories than the previous season.
Collins succeeds Eddie Jordan, who was fired after the first leg of a three-year contract.
Better than Jordan and the coach before him.Now get rid of the entire roster minus Holiday and Young.— P.H.I- Nice week they've had. Join "Sixers Fans For Change" on Facebook.— ArtMooney
- I'VE SAID ALL ALONG THIS PROCESS,STIFFANSKI IS TRYING TO SAVE FACE.HE HAD THE CHANCE TO BRING IN DOUG,BEFORE HIRING EDDIE.THERESSOMETHING WRONG IN THAT,CONTRATS TO U DOUG,WISH U ALL THE LUCK,ONLY THE 2ND PICK CAN BRING.MEANWHILE.THERES ANOTHER MATTER THAT NEEDS THE UTMOST ATTN....FIRING STIFFANSKI NOW! THAT IS THEONLY THING NOT DONE!WHY KEEP THIS NO TALENT EVALUATOR MAKING THESE DECISIONS? BRING IN COACH BROWN AS PREZ/GM! TIME TO CHANGE!FIRE STIFFANSKI MR SNIDER....FIRE STIFFANSKI NOW!!DUMP BRAND,AND DALLYBUM ,AND PACKAGE THEM TO A FAR FAR PLACE..!SAY THE CLIPPERS!OH BY THE WAY,I HEAR THEY NEED A GM TOO. PACKAGE THEM ALL TO SOUTHERN CALI! FIRE STIFFANSKI NOW!— t_darb_56
- This is the guy I was hoping for. He has the best mind in basketball. Now if only he can get these prima donnas to play the way they are supposed to.— grimm39
- Doug Good luck with this mess!!— sawgrass
- Collins should have been signed about 6 coaches ago. I'm not the GM but as a casual fan of the NBA for 40 years even I knew he was the right hire. Why didn't the expert? How could any of these 6 prior losers, with the exception of Mo Cheeks, have been any better choices for this job? Stefanski picking that loser Jordan over Collins last year was the biggest joke of his tenure. What is he giving as hhis reason for hiring Collins this year when he snubbed the hire last year? That, I gotta hear.......— Mark1npt
SASSS is not going to like this. He was convinced that Collins was too good for the Sixers. Bwahaha!- No doubt Collins is competent and is a clear upgrade over Jordan but the fact that Stefanski made this hire is disgusting. Stefanski is the NBA's version of Matt Millen.— davekrieg
- Here's a crazy idea: why not give Collins a chance before everyone rips him. This town has a reputation of eating its young, sometimes well founded (as in the case with Jordan from the beginning), sometimes just plain stupid (many, many examples). I was adamantly opposed to hiring Collins, preferring instead Avery Johnson, Jeff Van Gundy, or Bill Laimbeer, but an assistant coach, favored by some posters, would not work with this team. It needs a veteran hand who knows the game, who has credibility, who can teach and command respect. Collins was a fine player, who is 45 games over .500 as a coach in the NBA (yes, I know he had Michael and Pippen and fared poorly in Washington), and his many years in the booth, where he excelled, may have given him insights that he lacked when coaching. Let's give him a chance before burying him.— chuckw
- 4 years? Aren't we paying 2 or 3 of our former coaches still? The odds of him coaching longer than that are slim to none, and slim just bought a ticket out of town.— The Reddgie
- zzzzz what has collins ever done? AVERY JOHNSON was the guy!— ArtieLange
- hopefully stefanski is fired tomorrow morning and let collins pick a gm.— only 9
- would love to see the chuckster come in here as gm and do what ainge did in boston— amann08
- I feel for Collins. He has a tough road ahead of him. I think he was crazy to take this dead end job. First things first. Trade Iggy and Dalembert and start from there. They provide nothing but clutter amongst a team filled with "nice little players". I still laugh when I remember Iggy stating after the season 2 years ago that he was going to have to sit down with the GM to talk about the direction of the team. LOL. What a joke. Yeah, andre, your just as big as MJ or Kobe. You just keep thinking that. I just think it will take so long to make this team a real competitor that Collins will be fired or burned out before things turn around.— Sewellmatt
Solid coach with a Philadelphia bsckground ; glad to have Doug on board prior to the draft. johnnyu
Bob Cooney has been at the Daily News for more than 20 years, working in the sports department for the past 15. This is his third season on the Sixers beat. He has covered just about everything, but mostly college basketball, where he was the La Salle beat writer for six seasons. E-mail Bob at cooneyb@phillynews.com and follow him on Twitter.
