Assuming that Red Auerbach is uninterested, the coach with the most glittering resume in the Lakers’ headhunt is none other than the one they discarded so easily, Phil Jackson. A number of media outlets are reporting that L.A. have already been in touch with Jackson, and the LA Times’ Mike Bresnahan and Tim Brown chimed in with the following earlier today.

Jackson is vacationing in Australia with Luc Longley, who played center for him with the Chicago Bulls. When asked in an e-mail about any possible scenario in which he would return to the Lakers, Jackson said: “[I am] mulling that over in my mind. Luc and I are going for a swim this p.m. [in the] Indian Ocean.”

Just letting us know that you were thinking about the job would’ve been sufficient, Phil.

Forever insisting that college coaches like Mike Krzyewski and Jim Calhoun have the greatest jobs on earth, Dick Vitale was on ESPN’s “Sportscenter” tonight suggesting that LA hire Kobe Bryant because “he already coaches the team…he takes all the shots anyway.”

Yeah, when he’s not injured for an indefinete period. Why not ask Vitale what he thinks of the Sammy Sosa trade, since he’s qualified to run his mouth about any number of subjects?