Apple kicked Jobs out, but they acquired NeXT years later because Apple really needed a good OS to replace Classic and Jobs just so happened to have hired some

Apple kicked Jobs out, but they acquired NeXT years later because Apple really needed a good OS to replace Classic and Jobs just so happened to have hired some incredibly good OS people and they had built a very strong OS. Apple was also churning through CEOs at the time and losing the ability to innovate on hardware products. They apparently needed someone to revitalize the culture and Jobs, a co-founder, was right there after the acquisition. So it sounds like the choice actually made lots of sense. In fact it seems like it was a very smart move by the board, and I guess the only question was, is Jobs sufficiently mature now to give him another shot.