What Comes Next for Phil Jackson?

As most of you have probably heard by now, Phil Jackson has told the world that he doesn't plan on coaching again (via SheridanHoops.com). So what's he to do from here on out?

For the time being, it seems as if Jackson should be content to chill out in Montana and wait until he and Jeanie Buss get married. In the meantime, the short term is probably going to be filled up with very Phil Jackson-esque things for him to do.

He can go back and write another book while hanging out on his ranch and reveling in Mike D'Antoni's failure. But if he wants a job in basketball, I'm sure that somebody out there will be willing to give him one, and fast. 

Whether he wants to be a television analyst, buy into a franchise, become a special adviser or even go into the front office, there are plenty of ways for Jackson to keep himself preoccupied. Even being a general manager for a team would be a completely viable option.

But is that the Phil Jackson we all know? Is he really fine with settling into retirement or being far behind the front lines rather than battling in the trenches with another team? I think not.

Taking a look at the comments Jackson made, it's not too far-fetched to think he would be open to coaching in the NBA again. It's not like this is the first time he had determined he had coached in his final game.

Of course, after what he's been through over the past few months, it's going to take a lot to get him back on the court. He and the Lakers had nearly struck a deal to reunite, but it fell through late, and Mike D'Antoni ended up landing the job instead.

Jackson felt betrayed and was outwardly upset at the way the Lakers front office had treated him by calling him in the middle of the night to let him know that he wouldn't be getting the job.

Still, Jackson's desire to coach might still be there.

The last time Jackson left the NBA, after Los Angeles' playoff loss in 2011, it was supposedly his last time coaching in the league. To his credit, he has yet to coach a game since.

However, he was right on the cusp of getting back into the league with a very attractive job offer on the table. After that was taken away from him, coaching a mediocre Eastern Conference playoff team in the Brooklyn Nets is going to seem like a distant second place.

"I have no intention of coaching in the NBA again." That certainly seems final, but perhaps the right coaching job could change things.

What happens if LeBron James hitches his way out of Miami after next season and finds himself in a place that wants to bring Jackson in as their new head coach? Is he going to turn down the opportunity to coach the next great superstar in line after Michael Jordan, Shaquille O'Neal and Kobe Bryant?

That opportunity would have to pop up for us to know for sure, but something tells me it would be hard to turn down. Jackson's future is completely up to him. If there's an NBA-related job he wants, it seems likely that he could get it.