Owner Jerry Buss, who had recently acquired the team, wanted games to be entertaining, and hired the coach to install a running offense.[8][9] McKinney had 6-foot-9-inch (2.06 m) rookie Magic Johnson, who some thought should play forward, be a point guard, even though incumbent Norm Nixon was already one of the best in the league.[10][11][12] On November 8, 1979, the Lakers were 9–4 after 13 games, when McKinney suffered a near fatal head injury after falling while bicycling.[2] Assistant coach Paul Westhead, who also worked under McKinney at St. Joseph's, was named the interim head coach.[12] However, the length of the recovery and lingering doubts about the complete return of McKinney's mental faculties, combined with the team's level of success under Westhead, ultimately meant that McKinney would never get the chance to return to the job.