Dan Majerle saying no to the Phoenix Suns sucks

Phoenix Suns fans around the world have wanted Ring of Honor member Dan Majerle to come home and roam the sidelines once again. Unfortunately, that’s not his plan.

With the 2017-18 season wrapping up, Suns General Manager Ryan McDonough stated that the search for the team’s next head coach was under way. Even leading up to that announcement fans and media members alike had been speculating on many names, although the names of who the Suns would have interest in directly targeting has remained somewhat of a mystery – until now.

John Gambadoro of Arizona Sports 98.7 has reported that Ryan McDonough has reached out to Grand Canyon University basketball Head Coach Dan Majerle to gauge his interest in becoming the Suns’ next head coach – to which Thunder Dan  has declined.

This. Really. Sucks.

Of all the names that have been thrown around for the vacancy, no other name holds either the gravitas or would produce unbridled enthusiasm that Dan Majerle would.

In fact, I believe that Dan Majerle would be the only  candidate that the Suns could potentially hire who would literally put fans in the seats all by himself. Fans would not only pay to watch the Suns live just because Majerle is the head coach, but the excitement around the team would spike in a way that only bringing in a former star like him back in could accomplish.

The nostalgia from the late 80’s and early 90’s Suns teams (arguably the best extended period in franchise history), would be palpable around the entire Valley.

Phoenix Suns

Not only would old Majerle gear suddenly find their way out of the back of fan’s closets, but old Suns stuff in general. Not-so hard core Suns fans who remember the Charles Barkley/Majerle era but who haven’t paid much attention in recent years (and, can we blame them?) would wear that old gear with pride, possibly totally rekindling their love affair with the team that has long since laid dormant.

Majerle already has a commercial presence in the valley as the head coach at Grand Canyon, and does a commercial for a local Lasik eye surgeon where he plays with an old replica of himself in the old wild west road Suns uniform. As the Suns’ head coach, his endorsement deals would only spike, which would spread the Phoenix Suns love that much more, only continuing to heighten the excitement for the franchise that it so desperately needs right now.

Presuming that next season the Suns will go all out to win and no longer tank for ping pong balls, just having Majerle on the sidelines would preserve a level of confidence even if the season goes sideways for a little bit that no other head could provide.

Faith that Dan Majerle would keep the ship righted even in the face of potentially mounting losses, but keep the peace within the locker room and smooth out any rifts in public during press conferences, would buy the franchise time to continue to make adjustments, no matter how big or small. For at least one more season, the franchise could lean on his shoulders and take solace in his ability to lead allowing for bumps in the road to be smoothed out without the chassis of the Suns’ car breaking, and the team and it’s fan base falling apart.

In the end, having Dan Majerle on the sidelines would have been the ultimate hire for the Phoenix Suns. The fan base would go crazy, excitement would be at a high it hasn’t been since the last time  he was on the sidelines, and no matter what the Suns did on the court, having Majerle to assuage any fears and calm any rifts would buy the team time to get the roster together to a level that would be championship caliber.

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It really does suck that Dan Majerle isn’t going to be the Suns’ head coach next season and that the search for a new floor leader continues. Hopefully the man who will be the next head coach can produce such a hype around the team and success on the court that years from now fans forget that Majerle was even once a candidate.

But until that happens, there will be a fear that whoever is hired, he will not be able to live up to the growing hype of a young team and fulfill the playoff goals that fans are beginning to set for a roster built around Devin Booker, Josh Jackson, and their future 2018 first round draft pick.