The New York Knicks' coaching search lasted for weeks and was full of rejections, twists, and turns before they hired Mike Brown. New York interviewed several candidates, including Mark Jackson and Taylor Jenkins, with one name standing out more than the others. Women's basketball legend and current South Carolina head coach Dawn Staley also interviewed for the job.
Even after the news broke that the Knicks interviewed Staley, many people believed that even if the Knicks offered her the job, there was no way she'd leave South Carolina. She proved that wrong on the "Post Moves" podcast with Candace Parker and Aliyah Boston, saying that she would've taken the job.
Dawn Staley speaks on coaching in the NBA, saying “if the Knicks would have offered me the job, I would have had to do it.” 👀 pic.twitter.com/BnBGEskmNx
— Post Moves with Candace Parker & Aliyah Boston (@PostMovesShow) August 27, 2025
Staley said she would've taken the job not just for herself, but for women. She added that she wouldn't take any NBA job, but that it was the "freaking New York Knicks."
Dawn Staley says she would've taken the Knicks job
Staley understands more than anyone what it would mean for a woman to be named the head coach of an NBA team. She said, "The NBA has to be ready for a female head coach. You can't just interview somebody and say, 'We're going to hire her.'"
She revealed that one of the questions she asked in the interview was how people within the organization's daily jobs would be affected if they hired her, making her the first woman head coach in the NBA. Staley said that question "got them to thinking" about how that would affect the organization, and she said she "felt the energy change after that."
Staley said she "shot herself in the foot" with that question, but it's not like it wasn't a fair question. The Knicks draw attention as they are, and adding Staley to the equation would've elevated the media frenzy to another level.
There is no question of whether Staley was qualified for the job. She's Dawn Staley. She was a two-time National Player of the Year at the University of Virginia, a five-time WNBA All-Star, and has three Olympic gold medals. She was inducted into the Women's Basketball Hall of Fame in 2012 and the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 2013.
The Gamecocks hired Staley in 2008 to lead their women's basketball program, and look at what she's done there. She's led South Carolina to three national championships and seven Final Four appearances in the last 10 years.
Coaching the Knicks would've been a big transition for Staley, but she was prepared to take on the challenge. She didn't give New York "a pity interview." Staley would've made the leap from Columbia to NYC.
The Knicks opted to go with Brown, but after what Staley revealed, it's hard not to think about what could've been. That won't be much of a thought if Brown does well in New York. Let's hope it's not a decision that will age poorly in Knicks history.