New York Knicks: Ranking the 6 head coaches of the 2010s

1. Mike Woodson (109-79)

Mike Woodson did not coach the most games for the New York Knicks this decade, but he was the only one of the six to have a winning record, finishing with a .580 winning percentage, the third-highest mark in franchise history.

Upon D’Antoni’s resignation, Woodson went 18-6 as the coach for the rest of 2011-12, taking the Knicks to the playoffs. They lost in the first round, but the momentum was high around a head coach that had a successful resume, including three playoff appearances with the Atlanta Hawks.

The 2012-13 Knicks had higher expectations. With Carmelo Anthony, JR Smith, Tyson Chandler and a collection of role players, this group found 54 wins, marking the only time of this decade and the first instance since 1999-00 that any Knicks season topped 50 wins. The same went for them advancing past the first round of the playoffs. Obviously, all seemed well.

2013-14 was a letdown, with a 37-45 win and missing the postseason. Woodson had to coach through the awful Andrea Bargnani trade, an injury-plagued season for Chandler and a roster of aging veterans in high-profile roles. However, the beginning of the end happened with the firing of general manager Glen Grunwald and opened what became a miserable final half of the decade.

Per The Athletic, Knicks owner James Dolan hired a consulting firm, McKinsey & Company, for “reorganizing” the way his sports teams, the other being the New York Rangers, operated. Their hiring was the reason for Grunwald’s exit. Months later, Phil Jackson was hired as president of basketball operations and he brought in his own guy at head coach.

Woodson’s abrupt end was avoidable and he deserved a longer run as Knicks coach. It wasn’t granted to him, and he has yet to become a head coach for another team.