NBA: Playoffs-Los Angeles Clippers at Golden State Warriors
Los Angeles Clippers 97, Golden State Warriors 118 Reuters

Even for what was seemingly a successful stint as head coach with the Golden State Warriors, the franchise has decided to fire Mark Jackson and made the announcement official on Tuesday.

"Thanks to the Warriors organization for the opportunity you gave me," Jackson said toe ESPN.COM. "Thanks to the great fans for all of your support!! Thank you to my players!! Who I love!! We accomplished a lot together!! I wish you all nothing but the best! God bless."

There are other non-basketball reasons for the firing as Jackson apparently often clashed with the GSW management and front office.

General manager Bob Myers did not address the issue but believes the firing of Jackson was the right move for the franchise.

''You're never sure of anything. But I do know that we have a lot of conviction in the decisions we make,'' Myers said. ''We wouldn't have made this decision if we didn't believe it didn't help the organization move forward.''

Among the early candidates short-listed for the Warriors head coaching job are Steve Kerr, Stan Van Gundy and Lionel Hollins. Kerr has been linked with the New York Knicks job while Van Gundy and Hollins are former coaches in recent years with the Orlando Magic and Memphis Grizzlies, respectively.

Doc Rivers, current head coach of the Los Angeles Clippers, who beat Jackson’s Warriors in the first round of the Western Conference Playoffs, was a bit surprised to see the development.

"George Karl was the coach of the year last year and got fired. Mark Jackson gets a team to multiple playoffs for the first time in a thousand years and gets fired. It's our job. We have a tough job. Everyone knows it now more than ever. ... Something has absolutely changed. I don't know what it is. Clearly the patience has changed. I don't know but there's definitely a change in thinking above us and it's hurting us." Rivers said in the same ESPN article.

Jackson’s first year with Golden State was a rough one notching only a 23-43 win-loss record in the lockout season in 2011-2012. The next few years was marked with good runs up until the postseason. Under Jackson Golden State went 47-35 in 2012-2014 and then 51-31 in the 2013-2014 NBA season.