Phil Jackson won't be coaching Knicks

NEW YORK -- In the coming days following the surprise firing of Derek Fisher by the New York Knicks Monday morning, expect plenty of big names to be floated as his potential replacement.

Just don't expect Phil Jackson to be among them.

“Not one second,” the president of the Knicks said on whether he'd given any thought to taking the job when he met with the media at the Knicks training facility following Monday's practice. “It's not in my physical capabilities.”

But the decision to jettison 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.

New York Knicks fire head coach Derek Fisher

All things Knicks: Latest New York Knicks news, schedule, roster, stats, injury updates and more.

Kurt Rambis, the team's interim coach, and fellow assistant Jim Clemons saw their influence wane this season. 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. Last season, no one expected much, especially once Carmelo Anthony was lost for the season and the team traded all veterans in an effort to fast-forward the rebuild, and a 17-65 record followed.

But these Knicks, after a 22-22 start, have lost nine of 10, a lone victory over the struggling Phoenix Suns mixed in with a four-game, then five-game losing streak.

“Nine losses in the last 10 games,” Jackson said when asked for why Fisher was fired now. “This is a business of winning. Games in which we didn't get off to a very good start recently ... but some of that onus is on the players, and I'll let them know that today.”

It all comes back to a great unknown, one that led to much of the surprise in Monday's announcement, which is precisely what the Knicks, Jackson in particular, thought was on the roster this season. After proclaiming the playoffs as a goal at the start of that lost 2014-15 campaign, Jackson declined to set expectations this past fall. But while he acknowledged that jumping from 17 wins to the 40-42 it is expected to take to make the playoffs this season isn't easy, Jackson made it clear in his answer that whatever the Knicks were accomplishing under Fisher, it fell short of what he believed possible from this group.

George Karl's job with Kings in jeopardy again?

“We thought there was a way that our players could play better,” Jackson said. “And we thought there was a way they should play better that we should see. So there's always the statement: it's easier to fire a coach than it is to fire 15 players ... there are things beyond our control. But we want this team to be competitive, day-in and day-out.”

Now Rambis gets a chance to prove Jackson right. High-profile Jackson acolytes like Luke Walton and Brian Shaw are waiting in the wings. Tom Thibodeau is without a job as well, and used to coach at Madison Square Garden to boot.

The relationship to Jackson, it seems, will matter. And Jackson expressed the belief that buying into the triangle offense is important as well.

“It's always great to have a relationship,” Jackson said. “It isn't paramount, but at some point I'm going to have a relationship with someone who's coaching this team.”

Beyond that, all the Knicks seem to know about the future coach is that it won't be Jackson himself.