Dawn Staley Reveals: Would Accept Knicks Coaching Job, Historical Impact

Dawn Staley Reveals Interest in Coaching the Knicks

The renowned women’s basketball coach, Dawn Staley, revealed that she would have accepted the offer to coach the New York Knicks if it had been presented to her. Staley, who currently coaches the South Carolina Gamecocks, had a formal interview for the Knicks’ head coaching position.

“I would have had to do it. Not just for me. For the women. To open that door,” Staley commented on the “Post Moves” podcast with WNBA star Aliyah Boston and former player Candace Parker.

Dawn Staley

Staley emphasized the importance of the opportunity, mentioning that “it’s the New York Knicks”.

Instead of Staley, the Knicks hired Mike Brown in early July to fill the vacant head coaching position. Staley, a member of the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame, expressed that she felt well-prepared for the interview. However, she suggested that questions about how the team would handle hiring the first full-time female coach in the NBA might have affected her chances. Staley, 55, questioned whether the team was fully prepared for the impact his hiring would have on the organization.

“How, if they hired me as the first female [head] coach in the NBA, would that impact your daily work? Because it would,” Staley recalled asking during her interview with the Knicks. “You’re going to get questions that you don’t have to answer if you’re a male coach. There will be media and all this other stuff that you have to deal with, that you didn’t have to deal with and that you don’t have to deal with when you hire a man.”

Dawn Staley

Staley commented that he felt a change in the energy after those questions, suggesting that he possibly “shot himself in the foot”. In addition to Staley, the Knicks interviewed other candidates, including former Memphis Grizzlies coach Taylor Jenkins, and assistants James Borrego (New Orleans Pelicans) and Micah Nori (Minnesota Timberwolves), before deciding on Brown.