Doug Collins returning to Bulls as senior adviser

— -- Doug Collins, who was the Chicago Bulls' coach before they started winning titles, is returning to the team as a senior adviser.

Collins coached the team from 1986 to 1989, taking the Bulls to the Eastern Conference finals in his final season. It was a shock that he was fired and replaced by Phil Jackson.?

Jackson went on to become a legend, winning six titles with Chicago and five more with the Los Angeles Lakers.

Collins, 66, also coached the? Detroit Pistons, Washington Wizards and Philadelphia 76ers, and most recently?served as a television analyst for ESPN.

"Doug will be great in this capacity for our organization. The position of 'senior adviser' has proven to work well around the NBA in recent years, and I am confident the same will hold true with the Bulls," team chairman Jerry Reinsdorf said in a news release. "The fact that our relationship goes back more than 30 years certainly helps, but he is especially qualified to assist our leadership in rebuilding the Bulls."

One of Collins' bosses will be vice president of basketball operations John Paxson, who was a guard on the Bulls teams that Collins coached. General manager Gar Forman and head coach?Fred Hoiberg are also part of the Chicago brain trust.

"I am looking forward to getting started and helping everyone," Collins said in the news release. "To be able to stay involved in the NBA and work with John, Gar, Fred ?and their respective staffs, while not having to leave my family and continuing to live in one of the greatest cities in the world -- the fit couldn't be any better for me at this point in my life."

Collins' son, Chris, coaches at Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois.?

As a player, Doug Collins was the first overall pick in the 1973 NBA draft out of Illinois State. He played high school basketball in downstate Benton, Illinois. Collins was a four-time NBA All-Star who averaged 17.9 points per game for the 76ers in eight seasons before injuries cut short his career.