Jeff Van Gundy will have suitors if he wants to continue working in media, but the former ESPN NBA analyst may prefer a return to coaching.
Last week, Van Gundy was surprisingly one of the on-air personalities cut by ESPN during the company’s latest round of layoffs. Van Gundy should draw interest from other outlets, especially as the NBA’s current media deals expire after the 2024-25 season. But according to Chris Mannix of Sports Illustrated, Van Gundy is also exploring a return to coaching in the NBA.
“Van Gundy, who last coached in the NBA in 2007, has been discussing assistant coaching jobs with several teams,” Mannix wrote. “Dallas and Boston discussed roles with Van Gundy before beefing up their coaching staffs. There’s mutual interest in Washington, where the Wizards have room on Wes Unseld Jr.’s staff. Van Gundy, who won 57.5% of his games as a head coach in New York and Houston, won 52 games in his last season with the Rockets.”
After joining ESPN in 2007, Van Gundy called 17 NBA Finals, 15 of them working alongside the same crew of Mike Breen and Mark Jackson. For his blunt analysis and dry humor, Van Gundy was a popular broadcaster on ESPN. He was a fierce competitor as a coach, often appearing with dark bags under his eyes after preparing for games into the late-morning hours.
Van Gundy was linked to several coaching opportunities during his 17-year tenure at ESPN and even interviewed for jobs with the Minnesota Timberwolves and Houston Rockets. While the lure to coaching remained, the relaxed atmosphere and lucrative salary with ESPN may have been too good to pass up.
The Mavericks reportedly began pursuing Van Gundy to be an assistant on Jason Kidd’s staff before his tenure with ESPN ended. At the time, Van Gundy’s interest in leaving ESPN for an assistant coaching gig was not clear, but it’s possible that being laid off by ESPN has him now more willing to explore a return to the NBA sideline.
