LOS ANGELES -- Los Angeles Lakers coach Mike Brown has been fired after a disappointing 1-4 start to the season, the team announced Friday.

"I have great respect for the Buss family and the Lakers' storied tradition and I thank them for the opportunity they afforded me," Brown said in a statement. "I have a deep appreciation for the coaches and players that I worked with this past year and I wish the organization nothing but success as they move forward."

Assistant coach Bernie Bickerstaff will take over as interim coach for Friday night's home game against the Warriors.

"Today we relieved Mike Brown of his head coaching duties with the Los Angeles Lakers. Mike is a good man. Very hard working, maybe one of the hardest-working coaches that I've ever been around," general manager Mitch Kupchak said. "The bottom line is that the team is not winning at the pace that we expected this team to win and we didn't see improvement. We wish Mike well and we're sorry it ended this way. So, we've decided to move in another direction and make a change."

A source with knowledge of the Lakers' thinking said the firing was done "more to stop what was happening than to pursue anybody else."

Phil Jackson and Mike D'Antoni are the leading candidates to replace Brown, according to a source with knowledge of the situation.

"It's neck and neck," the source said.

A meeting with Jackson could happen by the end of the weekend.

Jackson retired as coach of the Lakers after the 2010-11 season. In his final news conference, he noted that he didn't have much of a relationship with Lakers vice president Jim Buss.

"People took that the wrong way," the source said. "There's no ill will between Jim and Phil."

The Lakers are expected to reach out to both men as early as Saturday morning, as well as several other candidates, which could include former Jazz coach Jerry Sloan, former Blazers coach Nate McMillan and ex-Clippers coach Mike Dunleavy.

The Lakers are expected to move quickly through this process as Bickerstaff only has committed to working a few games.

"I have no control over anything," Bickerstaff said. "Whatever Mitch asks me to do, that's what I'll do."

He did say he was "shocked" by Brown's firing.

"You know the history with Mike Brown and myself, in terms of the genesis of history there as an intern, as an assistant with me in Washington. So, I'm very fond of him and it's a tough situation," he said.

Despite not having a timetable, Kupchak wants a new coach "the sooner, the better."

"Clearly, great coaches or good coaches in this league that have jobs would not be let out of their contracts with their team," Kupchak said. "So that's not really a realistic possibility. I think there is a remote possibility that you look at assistants in the league and of course teams at that point would not stand in the way of a coach advancing his career. I think it's more likely that we would look to coaches that aren't presently employed."

Brown was among three finalists to interview for the job when Jackson, who has won 11 titles, retired. Rick Adelman and former assistant coach Brian Shaw were the others. Adelman is in Minnesota, while Shaw is an assistant in Indiana. The Lakers would need to request permission from Indiana to speak with Shaw, who would be a popular choice with their players. According to sources, they have not done so.

"It's not going to be a long process; that's for damn sure," a source told ESPNLosAngeles.com's Dave McMenamin. "But they're going to do their due diligence."

While a local television station reported that Jackson was spotted at the Lakers practice facility on Thursday, one source called that "coincidental" and noted that Jackson is the longtime boyfriend of Lakers vice president Jeanie Buss.