"He's very consistent. He always sees the big picture. That's why when he's getting attacked, like in the media, he doesn't react."

Not that anyone would be surprised that Phil at Work and Phil at Home would be pretty much the same steady, pensive guy.

Since he first made his mark leading the Michael Jordan Chicago Bulls teams to six NBA titles in the 1990s, Jackson's reputation hasn't changed.

He is the thinking man's coach, inscrutable, one who reveals little of himself. Even as the Hall of Famer leads his team into the NBA Finals against Orlando tonight, with a personal record 10th championship waiting to be plucked, he remains mum about his future with the Lakers .

He has another year on his reported $24million, two-year contract but says he will wait until this summer to decide if he will coach next year, based on health issues and his physical comfort.

He has had two hip replacement surgeries in the past three years. Circulation problems in his lower legs can make travel difficult. Plantar fasciitis can still bring some pain. Jackson, 63, skipped the last road game of the regular season at Portland to give himself a break before the playoffs.

But those around him see a positive picture. And this week, Jackson sounded encouraged.

"After the year's over I'll have some of the medical stuff checked out," he said. "But right now I'm feeling pretty good."

Said Buss: "This is the best he's felt all year. He's doing really well."

And longtime assistant coach Frank Hamblen, who has shared the championship experience with Jackson in Chicago and LA, hasn't seen anything recently, healthwise, that concerns him.

"I think he'll fulfill the contract and then come back on a year-to-year basis," Hamblen said. "His love of the game is so great, I just don't know what else he'd want to do."

Another assistant, Kurt Rambis, doesn't see any signs of Jackson getting reflective about his career.

"Any time your career winds down, you're looking at the past, you're respectful (of the experience)," Rambis said. "But I don't see him viewing his career as over."

One more indication? Rambis, a Lakers lifer and a possible successor to Jackson when he leaves, has recently interviewed for head coaching jobs in Philadelphia and Sacramento.

Buss said Jackson "stays in the moment" too much to even think about the end, yet.

"He definitely won't coach forever," she said. "But does it make him look at, say, coaching the All-Star game, and wondering if it will be his last?

"No! He just doesn't get sentimental."

If Jackson's coaching plans remain open-ended, his legacy is secure. His nine championships, including the three with the Lakers (2000-02), put him in a tie with the late Boston legend, Red Auerbach.

He can stand alone with his 10th, as the most successful NBA coach ever. Not that Mr. Circumspect is doing cartwheels at the prospect. He says he thinks more about the losses in the 2004 and 2008 Finals.

"At one time when I had that opportunity," he said of a 10th ring, "we'd never lost. Now it's a chance to get over suffering two losses, not about a 10th."

Said Buss: "I think he takes pride in all of his rings. But will the 10th be more special to him? I don't know."

Rambis also made an educated guess, when asked if Jackson would take private pleasure in surpassing Auerbach, a rival from Jackson's playing days with the New York Knicks.

"Probably," Rambis said. "But is he obsessed? Does he lose sleep over it? I doubt it."

What those around him have noticed is a bit of mellowing, at least with his approach to coaching, even from his first tenure with the Lakers from 1999 to 2004 to the second, when he came back beginning with the 2005-06 season.

Rambis said Jackson has "definitely calmed down over the years."

"When he first came here he was assertive, aggressive, demanding. There was an exactness to the way he wanted things done. He's freed up the players from being so constricted."

Not just on the court, but in the way he deals with players, said Brian Shaw, one of Jackson's former Lakers players and now an assistant.

"I tell him he's getting soft," Shaw said. "He allows a lot more from guys - talking back. He takes their opinions more into account."

Jackson might even agree.

"I have toned down a lot in my second emergence with the Lakers ," he said. "It's patience.

"And some of it is just not wanting to deal with the angst."

Not that any of us would see it anyway.

Reach Gregg Patton at 951-368-9597 or gpatton@PE.com

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JACKSON TIMELINE

Philip Douglas Jackson

BORN: Sept. 17, 1945

BIRTHPLACE: Deer Lodge, Mont.

COLLEGE: Attended the University of North Dakota DRAFTED: Selected by the New York Knicks as the 17th pick in the 1967 NBAdraft

ROOKIE YEAR: Selected to the All-Rookie Team

PLAYING CAREER: Known as an excellent defender, he helped the Knicks win the NBA championship in 1970. He averaged 6.7 points and 4.3 rebounds in his 807-game career.

RETIRED: After the 1980 season

EARLY COACHING: Led the Albany Patroons to the Continental Basketball Association title in 1984

Bulls YEARS: He was hired as an assistant coach in 1987, then the head coach in 1989. He led the Bulls to six NBA championships (1991-93, 1996-98).

Lakers YEARS: After taking a two-year sabbatical, he returned to coaching in 2000 with LA. He coached the Lakers to three titles (2000-02).

RETIRED AGAIN: Stepped down after 2004 Finals loss to Detroit

BACK AGAIN: Returned to the Lakers for the 2005 season, winning the Western Conference championship

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COACHING RECORDS

REGULAR SEASON: 1,041 wins, 435 losses, 70.5 percent PLAYOFFS: 205 wins, 90 losses, 69.5 percent

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CHAMPIONSHIPS

11 - NBA titles 6 - as coach of the Bulls 2 - as a player with the Knicks 3 - as coach of the Lakers