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Report: Jeff Van Gundy Interested In Being New Orleans Pelicans Head Coach

By William Lee

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According Marc Stein of ESPN, former-Knicks head coach Jeff Van Gundy is being considered for the vacant New Orleans Pelicans‘ head coach position.

Monty Williams was fired following the their First Round exit, being swept by the Golden State Warriors. Many names have been thrown out there for the vacant position, including Alvin Gentry, Scott Brooks, and Tom Thibodeau. Most recently John Callipari squashed any rumors of him leaving Kentucky for the position.

Van Gundy is currently a broadcast analyst for ESPN, and notoriously sides with the coaches on air.

"On an ESPN media call earlier this week, Van Gundy declined to discuss the prospect of pursuing the Pelicans’ post.“I have too much respect for the coaching profession and the sanctity of a job search to publicly speak about any job openings,” he said. “That’s really not my style. So I’ll just leave it as I’ve said many times.“I have the absolute utmost respect for Monty Williams. I coached him. I know what a class guy he is. He has integrity and humility, and I thought he did an outstanding job. I think he can be very, very proud of what he was able to accomplish there. You know, as far as the job search, I don’t get into the public domain on that. I just don’t think it’s right.”"

Van Gundy was an assistant coach for the New York Knicks from 1989 to 1996, becoming head coach from 1996 to 2001. It was a great time to be a Knicks’ fan, New York made it to the NBA Finals in 1994 and 1999.

Unfortunately New York lost in both NBA Finals, coming closest in 1994 but New York could not get it done and eventually lost in seven games.

1998-1999 was the lockout shortened season, in which New York just sneaked into the Playoffs as the eighth seed with a 27-23 regular season record. New York defeated their arch nemesis the Miami Heat in an incredible upset, marking the second time in NBA history that a eighth-seed had defeated a number-one seed in the NBA Playoffs.  This was highlighted by Allan Houston’s historical running one-handed jumper.

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Although fortunes would take a drastic turn with Patrick Ewing‘s injury, leaving New York without their star player in the NBA Finals. New York was quickly dispatched by the San Antonio Spurs in five games.

Prior to the 2000-2001 season starting, the Knicks traded away their star player Ewing in a four team deal. New York would stay the course, finishing with a 48-34 regular season record, being eliminated by the Toronto Raptors in five games. At the start of the 2001 season Van Gundy could feel the wheels falling off and resigned on December 8, 2001. In 2013 Van Gundy openly regretted quitting on New York during a radio interview on the Michael Kay Show on ESPN radio.

"“I quit the Knicks, so I know what quitting is,”“I did it. I quit. And it’s something I regret to this day . . . I live with it every day and I regret it. I let my emotions come into it. I was just emotionally spent. I made a bad decision and I quit.”"

Selfishly I would want Van Gundy to stay in the broadcast booth, I love to hear his rants on live television. Van Gundy is a one of a kind personality and can never be replaced, making ESPN’s broadcast a pure joy to listen to.

WHO ELSE CAN HUG GREGG POPOVICH!

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