In the category of redecorating the cabin while their cruise ship sinks, the Washington Wizards have fired head coach Eddie Jordan.

Jordan?s five-plus years as coach have been a time of go-go offense and swinging door defense.  When at full strength, the Wizards could compete with anyone on a nightly basis.  When one of their stars was out, the team suffered.  This isn?t surprising ? coaches help, but in the NBA, wins and losses are decided by who has the best stars.

While the firing is not a surprise ? the team is just 1-10 this season and just suffered a humiliating loss to the short-handed Knicks ? it is more than a little unfair.  Despite the team?s continued defensive woes, Jordan has done a good (not great) job coaching the Wizards.

The team he inherited was garbage, and he was saddled with a ?franchise? big man who worked harder at being a schmuck than he ever did at learning how to catch the ball, or develop any semblance of a game.  Last season, Jordan held the team together, and ? despite the loss of All-Star Gilbert Arenas ? coaxed Washington to a playoff berth.

In 2004-2005, extensive hand-tracking of the Wizards' defense revealed three good defenders ? Brendan Haywood, Larry Hughes, and Jared Jeffries.  That offseason, Hughes departed for free agent riches in Cleveland; the following offseason, Jeffries got a $30 million gift from Isiah Thomas and the Knicks; and this year, Haywood tore up his thumb in preseason.  Jordan?s defensive schemes left a lot to be desired, but it?s tough to craft a strong defensive team when the front office keeps letting the team?s best defenders skip town.  

It?s ironic that the loss of Haywood this season is probably the biggest factor that led to Jordan?s dismissal.  The two had an antagonistic relationship through most of Jordan?s tenure with the team.  Jordan was perpetually displeased with what he viewed as Haywood?s lack of effort; Haywood felt he was treated unfairly and held to a different standard than his teammates.

Through it all, Haywood anchored what there was of the team?s defense.  When Haywood played, the team was passable defensively; when he sat they were historically bad.  With Haywood sidelined by that thumb injury this season, Jordan was forced to rely on Etan Thomas, who is a poor defender, and rookie JaVale McGee in the middle.  Neither could do the job Haywood did, and the team?s record suffered.

Haywood?s absence also hurt the team on the offensive end ? not because Haywood is a dynamic scorer but because he understood the fundamental principle of setting a good screen: he got in the way.  The Wizards' offense missed Haywood?s screens and his offensive rebounding.

Jordan?s firing comes despite directing the team to four consecutive playoff appearances and a trip to the second round of playoffs in 2005.  Until Jordan arrived, the franchise had been to the postseason only once since 1988.

But, when the team started 1-10, and showed little sign of a turnaround and when the team continued to give up points in the paint, even as they allowed free rein at the three-point line, and when Jordan?s previously outstanding offense sputtered, team president Ernie Grunfeld decided the time had come for Jordan?s departure.

Again, this is no surprise.  A team source told me during the 2004 preseason that Jordan would be fired by Christmas if the team got off to a bad start.  In typical bassackwards Wizards' fashion, they hired Jordan first, then brought in Grunfeld as general manager.  Jordan would not have been Grunfeld?s choice, and a bad record the previous season coupled with a bad start in 2004 would have been enough for Grunfeld to make a move.

But the Wiz played well that season, reached the playoffs as a fifth seed, then knocked off the Chicago Bulls to advance to the second round.  Grunfeld shuffled the roster a bit in subsequent seasons ? permitting Hughes and Jeffries to leave, wapping malcontent Kwame Brown for Caron Butler, and signing bargain bin DeShawn Stevenson to replace Jeffries.

On paper, the Wizards have a solid team.  Arenas, when healthy, is one of the game?s most lethal scorers ? among the most efficient high-volume scorers.  Butler and Antawn Jamison are All-Star caliber forwards.  Haywood is solid in the middle, and Stevenson is a pesky defender who can hit the three.  Off the bench, a full-strength Wizards could bring savvy veteran Antonio Daniels, instant offense youngster Nick Young, skilled big man Andray Blatche, pogo stick rookie McGee, as well as pick-and-pop specialist Darius Songaila.  Jordan?s cutting-edge offensive schemes, coupled with a solid defensive plan could have made the Wizards a formidable opponent able to compete with any team on any given night.

But injuries made sure that team never materialized.  Instead of starting a trio of All-Stars, injuries to Arenas, Haywood, and Daniels forced the team to start a PG who played in Turkey last season and a rookie center who still has much to learn.  The team has needed guys who should be role players to do more, and too often, they haven?t been up to the task.

Whether that?s the coach?s fault is open for a debate, but it?s a moot question because of the bottom line of sports ? it?s tough to fire the players.  The Wizards' front office is grasping desperately at the most dramatic act they can do to salvage the season.  They?re hoping the players will get the message that 1-10 isn?t acceptable and that they?ll need to play better.

But there?s not much interim coach Ed Tapscott can do to fundamentally alter the trajectory of this season.  What the team needs is not a new coach.  It needs a miraculous healing.

Kevin Broom is a senior writer with RealGM.com