PHILADELPHIA -- Jim O'Brien was fired Monday after one season as coach of the Philadelphia 76ers and replaced by former Portland Trail Blazers coach Maurice Cheeks, one of the most popular players in Philadelphia's franchise history.
O'Brien, a Philadelphia native who played for Saint Joseph's, went 43-39 in his only season and the Sixers were eliminated in the first round of the playoffs.
He was in the first year of a four-year contract that paid him about $4 million a year. O'Brien, though, was not very popular with his players -- most notably former All-Star Chris Webber -- who often complained about their roles.
Cheeks was one of the most popular 76ers from 1978-89 and played on Philadelphia's last championship team, in 1983.
Cheeks was fired March 2 after nearly four seasons as coach of the Trail Blazers. He had a 162-139 record in Portland, the fourth-highest win total in Blazers history.
Cheeks guided the team to the playoffs his first two seasons, but the players hardly made Cheeks' tenure easy -- on or off the court.
The team was nicknamed the "Jail Blazers" after several brushes with the law, many of them involving marijuana possession.
Cheeks also spent seven seasons as an assistant coach for the 76ers and was part of the staff when they went to the NBA Finals in 2001.
Cheeks will be Philadelphia's fourth coach since Larry Brown resigned and left for Detroit following the 2002-03 season. Randy Ayers was fired 52 games into the 2003-04 season and replaced by Chris Ford.
A Philadelphia native who attended Roman Catholic High School and Saint Joseph's, O'Brien is the son-in-law of Hall of Fame coach Jack Ramsay. He led the Sixers to a 10-win improvement from a year ago and they returned to the playoffs, largely on the back of a healthy, happy Allen Iverson.
While O'Brien avoided public spats with Iverson, he did not have the full support of the rest of the team. Some of the younger players, like Samuel Dalembert and Willie Green, felt they did not develop like they should have under O'Brien and were unsure about their roles.
The Sixers also failed to really understand O'Brien's defense, a sticking point even in the postseason.
But Cheeks' return shouldn't come as a surprise. The Trail Blazers turned down Philadelphia's request to speak to Cheeks as a possible replacement for Brown. The former point guard always remained popular with Philly fans and was at the top of the Sixers' short list to take over for Ford.
Now, they'll get their wish.
