The New York Knicks are planning to conduct a wide-reaching search for their next head coach, and Stephen A. Smith believes Mark Jackson deserves to be a part of it.
Smith, who is a diehard Knicks fan, spoke during Monday morning’s edition of “First Take” on ESPN about some of the candidates he believes the team should meet with now that Tom Thibodeau has been fired. Jackson was the first name Smith mentioned.
“I’m gonna always mention the name Mark Jackson. He’s been away from the game for a decade as a coach. This man was responsible for building Golden State before Steve Kerr was brought in and took over and piggybacked off that and ascended to four championships,” Smith said. “Mark Jackson starred at Bishop Loughlin. Mark Jackson starred at St. John’s University. Mark Jackson was a Rookie of the Year playing for the New York Knicks.”
Smith believes Jackson’s ties to New York would make him a strong fit and potentially resolve some of the issues Knicks fans have with the team’s front office.
“Mark Jackson was a preeminent voice on the NBA and he knows and feels and vibes with New York,” Smith added. “He’s a native, so a voice for the New York Knicks where we ain’t got to worry about hearing from James Dolan, who hides from us, or Leon Rose the president, who hides from us — got APBs out for their a–es. We ain’t gotta worry about that because you got somebody like Mark Jackson, but I understand that that’s pretty much … I doubt that will happen.”
"I'm gonna always mention the name Mark Jackson…this man was responsible for building Golden State before Steve Kerr was brought in and took over and piggybacked off of that." – Stephen A. Smith on Knicks coaching search pic.twitter.com/XMo6306z77
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) June 9, 2025
Jackson, 60, has not coached since his final season with the Golden State Warriors in 2013-14. He was effective in his three years in Golden State, turning them from a cellar-dwellar into a playoff team. Jackson was fired amid some unflattering reports in 2014.
Critics of Jackson say he underachieved in Golden State, but Smith clearly does not hold that against him. Jackson has interviewed for a couple of head coach jobs in recent years, though there has been no indication that he was close to landing one.
Jackson was part of ESPN’s top NBA broadcast team for years before he and Jeff Van Gundy were laid off in 2023. He was set to return to the booth for some Knicks games shortly after that, but there were reportedly some issues between Jackson and the team.
As Smith said, it is unlikely that Jackson will receive serious consideration for the Knicks job. Perhaps the two sides will entertain a conversation, if nothing else.
