Steve Kerr, Phil Jackson both historically great coaches in own way

Each inherited an NBA roster lunging at the front door of elite status and growing restless. Each approached his job guided as much, if not more, by personal principles as basketball dogma. Each can point to a biography with unmatched accomplishments.

Phil Jackson, however, was a better coach than Steve Kerr. Has more receipts. Kerr would concede as much.

Kerr, however, is an easy winner in a category that is more significant in this era than it was at any time in Jackson’s coaching career.

Phil has a much deeper catalog, coaching 20 seasons to Steve’s five-plus. Phil’s teams won an NBA-record 11 championships, to Steve’s three. Phil never experienced a losing season, Steve definitely has. Phil’s .704 winning percentage is the highest of any NBA coach in the Hall of Fame.

Phil Jackson is the most accomplished coach in the history of American professional sports. It could be said, with a straight face, that he is the all-time best among an august group.

Kerr’s first five years are, however, superior to Jackson’s first five. Steve’s 322-88 record and .785 winning percentage amount to the best start of any coach in league history. Jackson’s numbers -- 295-115 and .720 -- are superb.

Kerr probably does more pure coaching than Jackson, who became a disciple of Tex Winter and then hired him in Chicago to install the triangle offensive system while Johnny Bach presided over the “Doberman” defense.

Where Philip, as Isaiah Rider would call him during his Lakers tenure, shines is in managing crisis. And he had more of it to manage.

Though there is no doubt Michael Jordan was Jackson’s lieutenant, there were times when MJ made Phil’s job more difficult. For instance, Jordan wouldn’t hesitate to berate teammates or even get overtly physical with them in practices, something Kerr personally experienced. Jackson, the “Zen Master,” was quite good at soothing sensibilities.

He masterfully navigated the Scottie Pippen drama as well as the two-legged spectacle that was Dennis Rodman. Either could have topped the Bulls, but Jackson didn’t let it.

One factor that worked in Jackson’s favor was his alignment with the players in having a frosty relationship with general manager Jerry Krause.

Jackson was that rare individual who could play “good cop” to his boss, Krause, and his team leader, Jordan, as both exhibited bad-cop tendencies. There were strokes of genius in Phil’s ability to keep the locker room pushing in one direction.

By the time he got to LA, Jackson was a little more jaded and less inclined to stroke egos -- yet still effective enough to prosper. He’d jab Kobe Bryant in public to provoke a reaction. He’d privately meet with Shaquille O’Neal or Kobe, let them vent and then skillfully steer them in the direction that best suited the team.

Kerr had his share stressful moments, most notably the 2016 locker-room spat with Draymond Green and, nearly three years later, the rift between Kevin Durant and Green. Through it all, though, Kerr always knew two things.

First, Steve quickly learned that his team leader, Stephen Curry, required very little maintenance. Steph knew when to joke, when to insert logic, when to play referee and when to shut the hell up.

Second -- and this was dramatically different than Phil’s Chicago experience -- Kerr always knew his GM, Bob Myers, would be a trusted ally. That Myers’ disarming persona was the polar opposite of Krause’s brusque nature left far fewer crises dropping into Steve’s lap.

Where Kerr routs Jackson is in outreach. Phil coached his teams and focused his occupational energy toward that. Steve coaches his team, his front office, his CEO and the rest of the ownership group.

Twenty years into the 21st century, that ability is crucial. Unlike previous generations, when players were new to the concept of power and owners were above critique, it’s almost impossible for a franchise to thrive with such defined layers. Kerr builds bridges that connect them all.

It’s not likely Kerr’s career will approach the depth of Jackson’s. It’s certainly not a goal. But Kerr is quick to acknowledge coaches that influenced him, with Jackson among them.

[RELATED: Kerr offers theory for why MJ retired to play baseball]

So, yes, any objective jury sides with Jackson. He’s one of several coaches to fill the role of Socrates to Kerr’s Plato.

But if Jackson’s 72-win Bulls of 1995-96 were to meet Kerr’s 67-win Warriors of 2016-17, even Michael Invincible Jesus Jordan wouldn’t be enough to stop Golden State.

The NBA is, after all, a player’s league. With these two coaches, and these two teams, the coach-player relationships are too similar to provide an edge.

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