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Phil Jackson Says Decision To Fire Fisher As Knicks Coach Not Influenced By Ownership

Knicks President Phil Jackson yesterday indicated team Owner James Dolan did not influence his decision to fire coach Derek Fisher, according to Frank Isola of the N.Y. DAILY NEWS. Jackson said, "This is my decision." Isola noted in firing Fisher midway through his second season, Jackson "did something he rarely ever does." He "admitted to failing" (N.Y. DAILY NEWS, 2/9). SNY’s Eamon McAnaney said he was “stunned” by the firing and that Jackson "would admit a mistake this quickly.” McAnaney: “I give Phil a little bit of credit for admitting a mistake. But at the end of the day, Phil made a mistake. This was his first big hire, first big decision.” Hiring Fisher ended up being a "colossal failure.” But SNY's Marc Malusis said, “At least they did not continue with this process and basically cut it off at the knees and said, ‘We need to move on’” (“Loud Mouths,” SNY, 2/8). ESPN’s Jackie MacMullan said, “One thing about Phil Jackson -- he’s not afraid to make a change if he thinks he needs to make one” (“Around The Horn,” ESPN, 2/8). CBSSPORTS.com's Ken Berger wrote Jackson "must have thought he was hiring a Phil Jackson guy when he plucked Fisher straight out of retirement and sat him in the first seat on the Knicks' bench." However, he hired someone who "wanted and needed to have his own way of doing things." Fisher was "never going to be Jackson's yes man" (CBSSPORTS.com, 2/8). 

REASONS FOR THE MOVE: USA TODAY's Howard Megdal writes the decision to fire Fisher, while "surprising to many, certainly makes sense within the context of both the team's recent play and Fisher's increasing de-emphasis of both Jackson's philosophy and his most trusted people on the coaching staff." Fisher also "moved away from principles of the Triangle offense, particular in the second halves of games the Knicks were trailing." But ultimately, his "downfall came from the results" (USA TODAY, 2/9). In N.Y., Stefan Bondy noted Jackson "portrayed his interactions with Fisher as terse and basic, clearly not what he envisioned when declaring before the season that he’d be more involved" (N.Y. DAILY NEWS, 2/9). YAHOO SPORTS' Adrian Wojnarowski noted flying to California to "visit a girlfriend" in the middle of the Knicks' training camp -- as well as engaging Grizzlies F Matt Barnes "in a Tom-and-Jerry tussle-and-chase -- cost Derek Fisher dearly." Fisher "lost the moral high ground inside Madison Square Garden, lost a measure of gravitas as a leader of men" (SPORTS.YAHOO.com, 2/9).

SO WHAT WERE YOU MEANING? In N.Y., Harvey Araton notes upon signing on as team president in March '14, Jackson "promised a more open organization than what preceded him." He "tried to be more of a presence for a while but has retreated this season," surfacing yesterday for the "first time since training camp" (N.Y. TIMES, 2/9). 

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