I believe that Phil was great handling egos, but didn't have much work to do on tactics. he always played with the same plan= no true pg, handling on the mvp guard/forward, choosing greatly players on court considering chemstry with the leaders, good defenders with no ego...
He was great with what he had (great players), easier on playstation than in real life... Not many can do that.
Poppovich, on the other hand, would be a great BB manager. Larry Brown too... unless he got too much money to waste (ask the Knicks fan like me about it). I like Sam Presti's chances too (OKC manager).