Michael Jordan will not return to his duties as head of the Washington Wizards basketball operations. While it?s difficult to give Jordan a final grade for his stint at the helm, his departure may be for the best. His four years with the Wizards are marked more with lingering questions, bad feelings, and disappointments than fond memories of his play or marvel at his front office savvy.

His two seasons on the court were ticket office bonanzas, but ultimately a failure. For all the talk of teaching and passing on his knowledge, Jordan never demonstrated an aptitude for the task. Many accepted the unspoken assumption that because he had achieved at the highest levels, he?d be able to show others how to do it. That did not turn out to be the case.

Many of the character traits that helped make Jordan successful as a player backfired on him as a talent evaluator and developer. His famed competitiveness manifested itself as impatience, and his notorious acid tongue and intolerance of mistakes turned him into a nag that teammates eventually tuned out.

Jordan?s fingerprints are all over the organization. He staffed every area of the team from players, to front office, to scouts and coach. The only player he didn?t acquire was center Jahidi White, and Jordan oversaw negotiations of White?s re-signing, a bad move in hindsight.

Jordan?s exit potentially throws the Wizards front office into disarray. Wes Unseld, the titular general manager, has already announced plans to depart. Rod Higgins, a logical successor, was hired by Jordan ? as were many of the other scouts and executives. They could follow Jordan when he likely resurfaces in Charlotte.

Abe Pollin?s team is entering a crucial phase in its rebuilding process, and it need not be sidetracked by a leadership change in its basketball operations. Here?s a step-by-step plan for the Wizards to navigate the post-Jordan waters.

1 ? Hire A General Manager

Based on Pollin?s history, the leading candidates to head the organization are: Bernie Bickerstaff, Phil Chenier, Wes Unseld, or Wes Unseld, Jr. Going the tried and failed nepotism route would be a mistake. This isn?t the time to take the same action and hope for a different result.

The smart move would be to identify an executive with one of the league?s better franchises, and let him establish a professional front office. An ideal candidate could be John Hammond, Detroit?s Vice President of Basketball Operations. Hammond has 24 seasons of coaching and administrative experience (13 professional, 11 collegiate), and has worked his way from an assistant coach and scout to being second in command under Joe Dumars. Hammond has played a key role in crafting a Pistons roster that is more successful as a unit than its individual parts would suggest.

Another possibility is Chris Mullin, currently being groomed by the Golden State Warriors to head their operations. Mullin?s plans could be changed, however, with an offer of control and money.

A third candidate could be Mark West, currently assistant general manager with the Phoenix Suns. West was a smart player who got the most out of limited talent. Where Jordan was the quintessential superstar who could carry his team to a championship, West was the classic role playing teammate. He has just one season in the front office, but West?s intelligence and playing experience suggests he?ll be a good executive. Plus, with a degree in finance and more than a decade as a licensed stock broker, he may actually understand the salary cap.

My final external choice for GM is Philadelphia?s player personnel director, Tony DiLeo. Like Hammond, DiLeo has worked his way up the ranks. He has been with the Sixers for 12 seasons, and has been an assistant coach and scouting director. He also has extensive experience scouting international players ? he was the West German national coach from 1981-1985.

Most likely, though, Pollin will look in-house to reconstitute the front office. If he chooses to do so, he could do worse than promoting Rod Higgins ? if Higgins wants the job. Assuming that Higgins departs with Jordan, Pollin should strongly consider promoting longtime scout and current scouting director Chuck Douglas.

Douglas has been with the organization for 18 seasons, and has a solid reputation around the league as a talent evaluator. His scouting helped the Wizards select guys like Jahidi White, Calvin Booth and Juan Carlos Navarro ? all in the second round.

Former Bullet Bob Dandridge could be another good choice. Dandridge was a key part of Washington?s 1978 championship, and currently works with the player's association.

2 ? Fire Collins

It?s going to cost the Wizards $10 million to get rid of head coach Doug Collins, but it has to be done. He was hired to be Jordan?s coach, and obviously, that?s no longer necessary. More important, Collins lost the team?s respect last season by permitting appearances that he was a Jordan lackey.

Players blasted Collins in exit interviews for his odd coaching decisions, inability to stand up to players cursing him, and his erratic interpersonal behavior. He was universally viewed as unfair in his treatment of players, mainly in how he dispensed minutes and constant lineup changes.

In addition, Collins is seen by players as Jordan?s guy. Locker room resentment toward the Jordan-Collins partnership was rampant. While Collins may in fact be a good coach, he wasn?t up to the job last season. For the good of the team?s future, he has to go.

3 ? Find A Coach

A major reason for jettisoning Collins is to clear the way for the new general manager to hire his own coach. Whoever coaches the team next season should be a master teacher and communicator who values fairness and objective evaluation. Bringing in a stat geek wouldn?t hurt either.

The hot candidate is former New Orleans coach Paul Silas. He did an excellent job guiding the Hornets into the playoffs despite injuries to many players, including the team?s stars, Jamal Mashburn and Baron Davis. Silas is universally respected by his players who feel he?s even-handed in his treatment of them. And that includes even players who felt they deserved more playing time.

For a second choice, the Wizards could look to Detroit once again. Danny Manning is still an active player, but there?s no question he?s at the end of his playing days. Manning had superstar ability until three torn ACLs short-circuited his career. He had to recreate himself as a role player who got by on guile, anticipation, and positioning instead of athletic ability. He?s already a locker room leader, and could soon become a coaching star.

As with the front office job, Pollin traditionally looks within for his coaches. Brian James and Larry Drew may one day be good professional coaches. Both are liked and respected by at least some of the current Wizards? players, and both are experienced coaches. However, neither was able to cut through the team?s dysfunction, and therefore, neither warrants serious consideration for the head coaching job.

4 ? Hire More Scouts

Among Jordan?s early moves as team president was expanding the team?s puny scouting department. Now is not the time to revert to a skeleton crew. Instead, they should take Jordan?s advice and invest heavily in scouting operations, especially at the international level. To continue rebuilding, the Wizards need to scour the planet for quality players, and that?s not going to happen without more resources.

5 ? Patience, Patience, Patience

With unproven youngsters like Kwame Brown, Jared Jeffries, Juan Dixon, Etan Thomas and Brendan Haywood, the Wizards are likely to experience more losing than winning over the next season or two. Rebuilding takes time ? especially when a team has been as bad as the Wizards.

The franchise needs to decide on a plan, choose wisely the people to implement it, give them the resources necessary to get it done, then let the process run its course. Making moves and acquiring players without a guiding strategy will result in more mind-numbing losses and disappointing seasons.

Much needs to be done, but with a sensible approach the Wizards are not far from becoming a good team. Unfortunately for Wizards fans, if there?s one thing this franchise has demonstrated, it?s that they can mess up nearly anything.

Kevin Broom is a Senior Writer with RealGM and a frequent contributor at WizFans.  He can be reached at KevinBroom@RealGM.com.