Jack Mckinney and Jerry Tarkanian’s relationship is the current hot topic of discussion after the airing of episode 3 of Winning Time.
The HBO series Winning Time is the drama series based on the book Showtime: Magic, Kareem, Riley, and the Los Angeles Lakers Dynasty of the 1980s.
Jack Mckinney & Jerry Tarkanian Relationship Explored
There is not much revelation about Jack Mckinney and Jerry Tarkanian. Jerry was the candidate for the Lakers coach who had almost negotiated the deal with the owner Jack Kent Cooke and owner-to-be Jerry Buss.
However, he had to give up the deal unwillingly because his agent and close friend, west coast mob associate Victor Weiss, was brutally murdered. In addition, he was attracting controversies which made him take his name out from the candidacy.
Then, the new owner who had recently taken over the team, Jerry Buss, decided to hire Jack Mckinney for the position. However, the coach had a short time on the team because of a severe head injury after falling off the bike.
In episode three of Winning time, Jerry Buss and Jerry West get into a heated argument. The new owner is considering Tarkanian for the head coach role but is concerned about the controversies.
In the midst of it all, he is also looking for some other candidate: Jack Mckinney. Until the end of the episode, we could not see who the head coach would be.
Jack Mckinney Accident Details
Jack Mckinney had an accident when he went on a tennis date with assistant Paul Westhead on Nov. 8, 1979. He fell from his bike, and his head struck the pavement leaving a serious injury.
He was taken to the hospital, and his life was saved, but the recovery was slow. Thus, before he had complete recovery, assistant Westhead took over as an interim coach. However, Jack could not return to the post soon.
Thus, Westhead was offered a full-time position, and he accepted it, not knowing how much time it would take for Jack to be back. In 2006, the former Lakers coach had said that he would have accepted the permanency too and expressed his sadness, writes LA Times.
And he continued to suffer from memory loss and other neurological issues throughout his life. Moreover, Westhead helped the team to secure four titles during his tenure.
But, many other experts in the field argue that if it had been Mckinney, he would have helped to get five-six titles.
Jack Mckinney Was One Of The Lakers Coaches
The HBO series “winning Time” portrays the story of four coaches of the Lakers at the time of the showtime era, one of which is Jack Mckinney.
Episode three has introduced Jack as one of the possible candidates for the Lakers coach.