The New York Knicks have fired head coach David Fizdale. Who could become the next person to take over?
On Friday afternoon, the New York Knicks fired head coach David Fizdale after just 104 games. He led them to just 21 wins in that time, including tying a franchise-low with 17 in 2018-19. The 2019-20 season already featured seven losses of at least 20 points and the past two games had a point differential of 81.
Fewer than 24 hours after the Knicks’ loss to the Denver Nuggets, the organization decided to make the long-expected call.
The Knicks have not named an interim coach, but they will eventually have to seek a replacement for Fizdale. That person may not arrive until after the 2019-20 season ends, leaving a long, exhaustive search if the front office’s jobs remain through the final 60 games.
When the Knicks choose to seek a new coach, who should they consider from outside the organization? Let’s take a look:
5. Jeff Van Gundy
New York Knicks fans are all too familiar with the head coach who led the team to the 1999 NBA Finals.
Jeff Van Gundy remains this organization’s most successful coach of the past two decades. Cycling through different faces and regimes have not produced similar results, and it has been long enough since he last led the Knicks, having resigned in the 2001-02 season.
The 57 year old has been out of NBA coaching since 2006-07 when he led the Tracy McGrady–Yao Ming Houston Rockets. International coaching and a long run as an ESPN NBA analyst has consumed the time between, including doing color commentary in the NBA Finals.
Van Gundy is experienced and a familiar face, but would he actually rejoin the Knicks in any capacity? Does he have interest in returning to NBA coaching?
In 2018, via The Athletic, Van Gundy’s appetite for still wanting to coach was profiled. The Knicks were noted to not have interest in bringing him back, despite other organizations wanting this basketball veteran to take a role.
Rehashing the past may not work, but after so many failed experiments with new faces, what else do the Knicks have to lose at this point?