Stefanski doing lunch with Sixers season-ticketholders

Since last being seen in public April 15 on the 76ers' practice floor at Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine, announcing the firing of coach Eddie Jordan, president and general manager Ed Stefanski has been quite busy talking to people.

No, he hasn't been gabbing with potential head coaches; that process hasn't started yet. Stefanski has been busy answering questions from season-ticketholders about the future of the team and the just-completed 27-win season.

"We have lunches and meetings with season-ticketholders with me so that there is more access for them," Stefanski said. "It's a sales tool, but at the same time I'm very accessible to them, whether it be by e-mail or phone or whatever. We have breakfasts. We had about 30 people at a lunch [yesterday]. They ask a lot of questions. We talk about everything, the season, the draft, the coaching, what can we do with trades and all, the [salary] cap situation."

So what about all that?

Stefanski still is overseeing the team despite rumors of the organization's interest in Larry Brown returning to be more than the head coach, possibly leading to Stefanski's ouster. For now, he says, it is "business as usual," which entails, most importantly, the search for a coach.

"I haven't talked to anybody yet, but will do so at the end of this week," Stefanski said of coaching candidates. "There are assistant coaches out there, guys that we'll want to talk to who are still involved in the playoffs. Others aren't, and I'll talk to them soon. It's a long process."

Stefanski had said at the press conference when he announced Jordan's firing that the organization would take its time in its search for the seventh head coach since Brown departed after the 2003 season. He compiled a 255-205 record in his six seasons here.

Yahoo.com reported Monday that Brown is "angling" toward taking a job as the Sixers' president, though Sixers chairman Ed Snider said in yesterday's Daily News that the report was "total, unadulterated bull."

Possible candidates on Stefanski's list could include former Toronto Raptors coach Sam Mitchell, Dallas Mavericks assistant Dwane Casey, TNT broadcaster and former Sixer Doug Collins, and ESPN analyst Avery Johnson, among others.

There is also the issue of the June 24 draft. If the pingpong balls hold true, the Sixers would get the sixth pick. Stefanski spent a lot of time on the road scouting players, especially toward the end of the college season. The Sixers will find out where they are picking on May 18. It will be their only selection. They traded their second-rounder to Milwaukee at the trade deadline for guard Jodie Meeks.

"We're working to get a feel for everybody who's out there," Stefanski said. "We'll be bringing guys in and looking at a number of players. That is our only pick and we're excited about it."

When he is not compiling his list of possible Jordan replacements, Stefanski has the unenviable task of trying to explain to fans what happened this season and why it will get better.

"Fans don't get to work at this on a daily basis, they want to do stuff quick," Stefanski said. "I understand that, but it can't work like that. There are so many factors that we have to think about such as salary cap and all. But we like to have open access to the fans. We'll talk about everything, though we can't get into total particulars, of course."

The particulars of what the team is doing should be answered shortly. Though there certainly don't seem to be any quick answers after a season that ended with 55 losses.

Speaking of Eddie Jordan, he has withdrawn from consideration for the Rutgers coaching job, the Star-Ledger of Newark reported, citing sources.

It had been reported that Jordan was to meet this week with Rutgers about the job opening, which came about when former Villanova assistant Fred Hill resigned after four seasons.

Jordan is a Rutgers alum who starred on the 1976 team that went to the Final Four.

For more Sixers coverage, read the

Daily News' Sixers blog, Sixerville, at

http://go.philly.com/sixerville.