Mark Jackson has faced challenges not only in the NBA concerning head coaching roles but also from his own alma mater, St. John’s University. Despite being recognized as a successful head coach during his three years with the Golden State Warriors and earning acclaim as a broadcaster during his tenure with ESPN, Jackson has seen a decline in opportunities since his dismissal from the Warriors in 2014 and his exit from ESPN in 2023.
Recently, the former St. John’s point guard appeared on The Michael Kay Show on ESPN New York, where he was asked about Rick Pitino’s potential to rejuvenate the respected basketball program for the first time in decades. Reflecting on the coaching changes at St. John’s, Jackson admitted, “Since I’ve retired from playing, every other time St. John’s announced a brand-new coach, there was a side of me sitting there like, ‘Hello, why not me?’ I’m being brutally honest,” he shared with Kay. However, he expressed a different sentiment with Pitino’s hiring, acknowledging the latter’s exceptional coaching abilities: “When they hired Coach Pitino, there was not a side of me at all because I understood he’s one of the best to ever do it, if not the best to ever do it. And I embraced it, knowing St. John’s picked a gem and that the program would turn around once again.”
Jackson retired from playing in 2004, coinciding with the dismissal of Mike Jarvis as head coach at St. John’s. This timeline indicates that Jackson may have felt overlooked when the university appointed Norm Roberts, Steve Lavin, Chris Mullin, and Mike Anderson as head coaches, only later considering Jackson for an interview. While we can eliminate the 2004 hiring of Roberts as a missed opportunity—since transitioning directly from a player to manage Jarvis’s aftermath may have been unlikely—Jackson supported Mullin’s candidacy in 2015, which probably prevented him from pursuing the role against his former teammate. The potential openings with Lavin in 2010 and Anderson in 2019 become more significant; if Jackson was indeed interested in those positions yet never interviewed, it appears to be a missed opportunity for St. John’s. Perhaps financial constraints hindered Jackson’s attraction away from ESPN, but it remains surprising the school did not explore his interest.
