New Coach Jackson Already on Hot Seat?

Mark Jackson was hired by the Golden State Warriors to bring a new mindset to the hopefully new era of Warrior Basketball.

A longtime announcer for ESPN who had been looking to get into coaching for sometime, the Warriors finally gave him his wish and made him their next coach for the franchise.

It has come with mixed reactions, as he has no prior head coaching experience or any roots tied to the Bay Area.

Jackson has said all the right things so far; with his announcing background that’s easy to believe. However, with no experience, taking over a team in a loaded Western Conference—during an NBA lockout no less—while wanting to implement a defensive mentality to a team that has shown none of it, Jackson maybe in over his head already, and we don't even know when the first NBA game is going to tip off.

Here are three reasons why he might already be on the hot seat.

1. He Is a First Time Coach

Not just in the NBA, but at any level. He did possess great leadership qualities as a player, but how is anyone supposed to know if that is going to translate into a successful coaching career.

Former NBA players who were the most recent coaches to come in and who were successful without any prior coaching experience were Larry Bird, Doc Rivers and...that's it.

While both coaches lead their team the NBA Finals, Bird had a talented Indiana Pacers team in a weaker East division that no longer featured Michael Jordan, and Doc Rivers was on his way out until Kevin McHale gave the Boston Celtics Kevin Garnett.

With no experience, and leading a team that really has no playoff experience or even a winning experience, that might be just too much for him to handle for his first coaching tenure.

Keith Smart was a long-time assistant, even groomed to be next head coach for years. Yet, despite a 10-game improvement from the previous year, he was let go after just one year. Of course, the Warriors knew he had no experience coming in. But why would it be any different if Jackson were to produce the same results or, sadly, even worse results than last year, that he won't be let go after one year as well?

History is not on Jackson's side, and if he struggles mightily and doesn't get along with the current era of NBA players, with just $6 million and three years guaranteed to him, who is to say that new CEO Joe Lacob won't give him his walking papers sooner rather than later?

2. If a Monta Ellis and Stephen Curry Backcourt Doesn’t Work

One of the resonating sounds coming from Mark Jackson since he has been hired is that he wants Monta Ellis on his team. He has stated that Ellis is the third-best shooting guard in the NBA and that he would match him up against anyone in this league.

That's fine, but why would he be so adamant about it?

Why not just say, "Yes, Mona Ellis is a great player, and I look forward to coaching him?"

With his words, he put even more pressure to make a Curry/Ellis backcourt successful. With swirling rumors of many potential Ellis trades, Jackson shut them down and let us know that he wants to be the guy to make Ellis and Curry successful together. While we can argue to nausea about whether they can make a winning backcourt, it's now a top priority on Jackson’s job description. 

Jackson’s argument was to look at the Dallas Mavericks, who won the NBA championship with Jason Kidd and J.J. Barea as starters, as an example of smaller successful backcourt.

The problem with that is the Warriors don't have Dirk Nowitzki or Tyson Chandler on their team. They have David Lee and Andris Biedrins—not exactly possessing the same post presence as the NBA champions.

The Warriors brought in Jerry West to be a consultant, and the first thing he said was that he didn't think an Ellis/Curry backcourt could win in the league.

Then Jackson is hired and says he wants Ellis on his team, and now it's up to him to make them work together. If it goes south quickly, leading to another wasted Warrior season (albeit if there is one), Ellis maybe gone and West may "consult" the Warriors into trading Ellis, with Jackson following him out the door. 

3. Defensive Promises in a Shorten Timeframe

If you had to bet, when would you say the NBA will be starting the regular season? December? January? Not at all? David Stern and Billy Hunter are doing everything they can to make the NFL lockout look like a pillow fight.

Look, the lockout is not Jackson's fault, but it isn't going to help him adjust to the NBA and coaching. In a perfect world, he would get slack for having a shorter time to adjust. However, the NBA is a business and no one is going to care that he had a reduced time frame to turn the Warriors into winners.

So, when this NBA season actually does start, Jackson is going to have a shortened training camp, less time to get to know his team and, most importantly, little-to-no time to adjust to the rigors of being an NBA coach.

When hired, Jackson stated, "If you're going to win at this level, you've got to do it on the defensive end, so we will be a team that takes tremendous pride in defending on one side of the basketball floor. We will rebound the basketball. We'll make it an exciting game. It's going to be a great brand of basketball."

That's great, but what is going to happen if there just isn't enough time to "un" and retrain everyone defensively and they go back to their old ways?

With this lockout, is he going to have enough time to implement his defensive mentality? With the way the roster is currently built, would even three years be long enough?

Warrior fans have been patient, but they also haven't been promised any kind of defense either.

Jackson is going to have his work cut out for him, and if he can't deliver on what he was hired for—defense—he may not last long as the Warriors coach.