Phil Jackson: Suitable for All Ages

Eleven years ago, in the wake of Phil Jackson's second three-peat, the front-page headline of the Chicago Tribune proclaimed "The Joy of Six."

How about the "Power of 10?"

There are plenty of ways to quantify Jackson's brilliance. He's won more titles and more playoff games than anyone else. He owns the NBA's highest winning percentage ever in both the regular season and the playoffs.

But if you're cataloguing Jackson's accomplishments, don't forget one that puts him in the rarest of coaching company: The ability to climb to the top of the mountain in multiple eras.

By my count, Jackson has now hoisted the trophy in three different eras: Jordan, post-Jordan (the Duncan era?), and post-hand checking (the LeBron era, if you're so inclined—or the "one-and-done" years).

The particulars of that third era are open for debate, but any way you slice it, Jackson has won titles in three periods that featured distinct tactics and styles of play.

He rose above the physical grind of the early '90s. He thrived in the isolation-dominated years that followed the '99 lockout. And he just putting the finishing touches on a title in the hands-off, three-ball-obsessed landscape of the modern game.

Just how long has it been since Jackson's first title?

In 1991, Arnold Schwarzenegger topped the box office in Terminator 2. Mariah Carey's self-titled debut album topped the Billboard sales charts. The Lakers still shared the spotlight with the Los Angeles Rams.

To put it another way, Jackson is one season away from being able to show incoming rookies championship rings that he earned as a coach before they were born.

The only NBA comparison that comes to mind is Pat Riley, who won the last of his four "Showtime" Lakers titles in 1988 before commandeering the Heat at midseason en route to the 2006 crown.

Just one other coach has won a title with multiple teams: Alex Hannum, who did so with the St. Louis Hawks in 1958 and the 76ers in 1967 (try saying that one three times fast).

After that, everybody else—Red Auerbach, John Kundla, K.C. Jones, you name 'em—did so in one run.

Outside of Jackson, Riley, and Hannum, the only other multiple-title winner who has gone more than two seasons between rings is Gregg Popovich. Pop certainly deserves credit for winning four championships over a nine-year period with two different groups (one with David Robinson and one without).

But in terms of cross-decade dominance, Jackson—with six titles in the 90s and four in the '00s—stands alone.

The NBA isn't the only league where that kind of staying power is hard to find. In the history of the NBA, NFL, NHL, and MLB, just 14 coaches or managers have won multiple championships with a decade or more in between.

Only five coaches or managers across the four major North American sports have won titles with multiple teams. And if Jackson wins another title (or starts another three-peat, for that matter), he'll join football's George Halas and hockey's Scotty Bowman as the only pro sports coaches to earn championship banners in three different decades.

Plenty of coaches who enjoy tremendous success in one era can't find their footing in the next.

Lenny Wilkens won a title in 1979, but got out of the second round just once over the next two and a half decades. Chuck Daly's comeback attempt with the Magic netted him a lottery season and a first-round exit. Rudy Tomjanovich missed the playoffs in his last five seasons as a coach.

Even Riley admitted upon retirement that in his view, "This game is now about younger coaches who are technologically skilled, innovative, and bring fresh new ideas."

In other words, "No Coaching For Old Men."

Except for Jackson, of course.

One has to wonder if Arnold and Mariah are jealous.