The New York Knicks era under new president Phil Jackson has officially started. Jackson and the franchise announced Monday morning that coach Mike Woodson and his entire coaching staff have been fired after a poor 2013-14 season.
“I have a tremendous amount of respect for Mike Woodson and his entire staff,” Jackson said in a statement released by the team. While he noted that Woodson should not shoulder the blame for the season alone, Jackson said, “The time has come for change throughout the franchise as we start the journey to assess and build this team for next season and beyond.”
In addition to Woodson, assistant coaches Jim Todd, Darrell Walker and Herb Williams were fired as well, notes The New York Times.
Woodson replaced Mike D’Antoni at the end of the 2011-12 season as interim coach and returned for a full season the following year. While he did lead the team to two straight playoff appearances, The team, lead by Carmelo Anthony, failed to live up to expectations this season. The team had a 37-45 record and failed to make the playoffs.
Team owner James Dolan had every reason to expect his team to at least reach the playoffs this season, as last year, they had made it to the conference semifinals. But by the time Jackson was brought in on March 18, it was clear that there were going to be changes this summer. According to the New York Daily News, one of the possible replacements for Woodson is Jackson’s former Bulls player Steve Kerr.