Phil Jackson has officially begun to make the drastic moves promised in order to change the culture of the New York Knicks. As expected, Jackson’s first major move was firing head coach Mike Woodson and his coaching staff.
According to Ian Begley of ESPN New York, Woodson and his staff have been relieved of their duties:
Mike Woodson has been fired as the New York Knicks’ head coach, the team announced Monday morning.
The move to fire Woodson comes as no surprise with Jackson looking to shake things up after a disappointing season in which the Knicks failed to make the playoffs. Woodson’s firing was rumored for quite some time with the team missing the playoffs basically sealing his fate in New York.
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With Woodson and his coaching staff now out of the way, the search for a new head coach begins with plenty of rumors swirling about who Jackson and company will target. Steve Kerr continues to get mentioned as a likely candidate with Jackson having great respect for his former player.
Kerr could be joined by many others that were taken under Jackson’s wing during his days as the head coach of the Chicago Bulls and Los Angeles Lakers. Many anticipate Jackson will look to implement the triangle offense in New York and will be looking from someone like Kerr to make the change on the floor next season.
Although it appears that Kerr is the frontrunner moving forward, the Knicks could go after other potential suitors like Lionel Hollins or Jeff Van Gundy.
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