NBA Coaches

Larry Brown is headed to the Knicks at the tune of nearly $10 million per year. That will be more than Phil Jackson makes, around $7-10 million annually.

Mike Francesa on WFAN made a good point yesterday - when did NBA coaches make out so well on the pay scale?

The highest paid NFL coach? Parcells and Gruden make around $3 million, and Spurrier made around $5 million. I was looking for Bill Belichek's salary (he should probably be the highest paid) but it's probably in that range. It seems to me that these coaches work the hardest (not to mention often have personnel responsibilities) and probably would be expected to be paid the most.

MLB? Joe Torre makes about $8 million to take care of the Yankees, but his success with the team probably justifies it. Plus, the MLB season is the longest of any of the major pro sports.

So what is it about the NBA coaches that makes them so coveted and highly paid? Yes, they are a very visible personality on the sidelines, and are certainly instrumental in the direction of a team. But recent NBA coach successes aren't necessarily these big superstars. For example, Gregg Poppovich, Lawrence Frank, Stan Van Gundy and Mike D'Antoni have all had recent success without much "celebrity" status. It's clearly a demanding job, but I can't help but think the scale is out of whack.

One more note about the Brown signing, regarding the Knicks roster. I took a look at the 2003-2004 roster (pre-Isiah Thomas) and there's only one player who is on the '05-06 roster, Allan Houston. I just can't help but think with Brown now in the fold, the Knicks will make yet another round of changes to the team. It would be nice to have a team I could recognize and begin to root for (although I have to admit, I'll also take a good team).