New York Knicks’ Coaching Shortlist Includes Two Recently Fired NBA Bench Bosses

Content for everyone

Say what you will about the New York Knicks’ decision to fire Tom Thibodeau and how their search for his replacement is going— they are leaving no stone unturned.

After shockingly dismissing Thibodeau following the franchise’s best playoff run in decades the Knicks have spent the last week requesting to interview actively employed coaches. They have been denied at every turn, which has led to no small number of jokes at the organization’s expense. But inevitably the search must turn to candidates who do not have jobs right now, and a Knicks insider says two recently unemployed NBA coaches are on their radar.

On Friday Ian Begley reported for SNY that Mike Brown and Taylor Jenkins, who were both fired during the 2024–25 season, are “among the names” the Knicks are looking into as their search continues into next week.

Brown, 55, was stunningly fired by the Sacramento Kings in December, less than two years after winning NBA Coach of the Year while leading the franchise. He’s been around the league for a long time and obviously has found success in the past. But the Kings regressed in 2023–24 after Brown’s unanimous Coach of the Year win and started off this past season 13–18 before Sacramento decided to hand him a pink slip. In four stints as a head coach Brown has accumulated a lifetime record of 454–304; he coached LeBron James to his first NBA Finals in ’07.

Jenkins’s firing was equally as unexpected. The 40-year-old coach was canned by the Memphis Grizzlies in late March despite leading the team to a 44–29 record to that point. He was hired in Memphis as a rookie head coach in 2019 and went 250–214 in five and a half seasons at the helm. Jenkins didn’t find much playoff success with the Grizzlies but got them to the postseason in three of five full seasons.

Both coaches have their pros and cons; both also have an established track record of success at the NBA level. The Knicks will have much to evaluate as they move forward in their search for a Thibodeau successor.