dawn staley coaching
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University of South Carolina women’s basketball coach Dawn Staley says she interviewed for the New York Knicks’ open head coaching job this summer and would have taken the job if offered to her. The Knicks wound up signing journeyman head coach Mike Brown after firing Tom Thibodeau.
During an appearance on the Post Moves podcast, which is hosted by future Hall of Famer Candace Parker and current Indiana Fever star Aliyah Boston, Dawn Staley confirmed that she interviewed for the Knicks’ head coaching job.
The Knicks fired Tom Thibodeau — who had been hired in 2020 — despite leading them to a 51-31 record and an appearance in the Eastern Conference Finals, the franchise’s first in a quarter of a century.
In early July, the Knicks announced Mike Brown as the organization’s new head coach. The Knicks marks Browns’ fifth head coaching job in the NBA, having previously been the coach of the Cleveland Cavaliers (twice), Los Angeles Lakers, and Sacramento Kings.
South Carolina head coach Dawn Staley interviewed for Knicks job, would have taken it
According to Staley, despite being “from Philly”, she would have take the job to “break” the glass ceiling for women coaching in the NBA.
“I would have had to do it. Not just for me. For women. To break [that door] open. I would have had to. It’s the New York Knicks. I’m from Philly. But it’s the freaking New York Knicks. … I shot myself in the foot by … being inquisitive and asking all those darn questions,” the dominant South Carolina coach said on the Post Moves podcast.
Staley, 55 years old, has been the head coach of the South Carolina Gamecocks women’s basketball team since 2008. In that time, she’s that South Carolina to seven Final Fours and three NCAA titles (2017, 2022, 2024).
Brown will take charge of the Knicks in his first game as head coach when they host his former club, the Cleveland Cavaliers, at Madison Square Garden on October 22.