NBA Nuggets rookie coach has job in jeopardy

He wasn't even the team's first choice for the job and he has probably the worst talent in the league.
KNIGHT RIDDER NEWSPAPERS
DALLAS -- Every head coach wants job security. But no first-year coach in recent NBA history has entered the league with more job insecurity than Denver's Jeff Bzdelik did this season. Consider:
He was not the team's first choice. Nuggets general manager Kiki Vandeweghe had targeted several other candidates, including current Mavericks assistants Donnie Nelson and Del Harris. Both were wooed heavily, but ultimately stayed in Dallas -- Nelson with a promotion to president of basketball operations, and Harris because he couldn't work out a suitable contract with the Nuggets.
He has no proven track record. Bzdelik has been in the NBA since 1988 as either a scout or assistant, but his only head coaching experience was two years at the University of Maryland-Baltimore County. Vandeweghe admits hiring Bzdelik was an "unconventional choice." Not only does his new coach lack name recognition, he lacks an easy name to pronounce (it's buzz-DEL-ik).
He's starting out at 50
He's starting out late. As the accompanying chart shows, no other active NBA head coach started his professional coaching career as old as Bzdelik, who was 49 when he got the job (he's since turned 50). Boston's Jim O'Brien and Atlanta's Lon Kruger were 48, but both had extensive experience as college head coaches.
He won't win many games. The rebuilding Nuggets enter the weekend with the second-worst record in the Western Conference. While expectations are low, that doesn't mean Bzdelik gets a long honeymoon. Less than a month into the season, one Denver sports columnist referred to him as "Coach Clueless."
He could easily be looking over his shoulder. Bzdelik's top assistant is associate head coach John MacLeod, who has 18 seasons of NBA head coaching experience (including two-plus seasons in Dallas). MacLeod wants to be a head coach again, and it would be easy for Vandeweghe to slide him over if things became really rotten in Denver.
Despite all those circumstances, Bzdelik isn't jittery. He may lack head coaching experience, but he doesn't lack the proper perspective.
"If my skin is that thin," Bzdelik said, "then I don't belong in this business."
Has help available
That doesn't mean he couldn't use some help, which is where MacLeod and team consultant Doug Moe, the Nuggets' all-time winningest head coach, come in. They are veteran sounding boards for Bzdelik to lean on.
Moe has no desire to return to full-time coaching duties. But MacLeod does -- he was a candidate for the Golden State job earlier this year.
Still, Moe and MacLeod know their proper place in the Nuggets' pecking order.
"I explained the whole situation and the way it would work," Vandeweghe said. "They're very comfortable and secure in their roles, and I think Jeff is secure in that."
MacLeod said he wants to stay in the background and contribute when he can. He'll be glad to counsel Bzdelik on any aspect of head coaching. But he's also careful not to push.
"Jeff's had a lot of assistant coaching experience, but there's quite a difference when you move over," MacLeod said. "Jeff wants me to help him, and I want to help him."
Not surprising, it's been a rocky first year for Bzdelik. He's seen plenty of ugly (a three-point quarter) but also some beauty (home wins against the Pacers and Spurs). He's even received good reviews, mainly because his team plays hard despite having possibly the worst talent level in the league.
Bzdelik won't win Coach of the Year honors this season. But if nothing else, more people will know how to pronounce his name.