New York Knicks: Ranking the head coaching candidates

Ranking Knicks coaching candidates: 3) Jeff Van Gundy

Maybe it’s nostalgia still pulling me toward Jeff Van Gundy. Besides their brief stint of success under Mike Woodson, the Knicks have not been a perennial contender since Van Gundy was drinking diet cokes along the Madison Square Garden sideline.

The former Knicks coach has been out of the NBA since he was fired by the Houston Rockets in 2007, keeping his mind sharp as a commentator with another coaching candidate Mark Jackson on ESPN/ABC telecasts.

However, the 58-year-old coach has also spent time leading USA men’s basketball team at the 2017 FIBA AmeriCup tournament and 2019 FIBA World Cup qualifiers. He hasn’t forgotten how to lead a team.

The reason I put Van Gundy higher on the list than other veteran choices is his willingness to approach things with an open mind. He is not the kind of coach that is going to return to the league with a vendetta to prove that his style of coaching works. He will do whatever it takes to become a winner. I have no doubt he would adapt to the modern NBA.

While Van Gundy has hinted he is open to returning to a coaching job in New York, and he is reportedly on Leon Rose’s list of potential candidates, there has been no word of a possible interview. He is close with Thibodeau, so perhaps the two team together in a return to the Garden. Crazier things have happened.