It's official, the Sixers have a head coach

After a night of speculations and reports, the news is now official. As first reported by ESPN.com, the Philadelphia 76ers have hired Doug Collins to be their new head coach. The contract is for four years, and hopefully Collins will last most of that time, as the Sixers have been through enough coaches since Larry Brown left. This is a safe move from the Sixers, but not necessarily an exciting one.

In terms of best coaches available, Collins was near the top of the list this offseason. He's had plenty of coaching experience before, with stops in Chicago, Detroit and Washington and has a career 332-287 record, making him at least better in that regard than Eddie Jordan. He was also the first overall pick by the Sixers back in 1973, so he has history in this town, and his work ethic was second to none as a player in Philadelphia. Coming to a team with young talent that gave up on the head coach last year, having a coach with a strong work ethic that he can pass along to his team is a very important thing to keep in mind.

That being said, this move is pretty neutral. The Sixers needed a head coach, and they got a head coach. Collins has never set the world on fire with his coaching ability, and all three teams he manned actually got better once he left. He's not the biggest name that's out there, and certainly isn't a name that's going to bring that much attention to Philadelphia, but the Sixers could have made worse choices as well. This isn't a bad move, but it's just a simple move, nothing more. It's not like bringing in a Phil Jackson or Pat Riley or someone just below that level. It's about bringing in a head coach with experience and the skill to lead players and make them better, and that's what Collins can do. He's not going to lose the team like Eddie Jordan did last year, but he's going to have to work to make them better.

This upcoming draft, with Collins at the helm of the team now, is going to set the stage for the Sixers for the rest of the decade. The biggest issue with this team is that they don't have that "give me the ball" player than Allen Iverson was in his prime in Philadelphia. Instead, they have a bunch of young players, like Thaddeus Young, Marreese Speights, Lou Williams, Jrue Holiday and Jodie Meeks, mixed in with older players such as Samuel Dalembert, a square peg in a round hole like Elton Brand and Andre Iguodala, who tried to become that superstar and was never able to reach that level. Where the Sixers go with the 2nd pick in the draft is any one's guess, but whomever they pick is going to have to at least get close to that superstar level. That's what teams expect out of the 2nd pick in the draft, and that's what the Sixers need. Honestly, they need help at just about every position, but if they pick the wrong player, the team could even move backwards again. If they trade the pick for veterans...I don't even want to talk about it.

Regardless, Doug Collins is the new head coach, and I wish him the best of luck. As long as he lasts longer than Eddie Jordan, he's ok in my book.