While some NBA fans believe it’s a crime that Jeff Van Gundy is no longer on ESPN, Mark Jackson says it’s a crime that his former colleague isn’t a head coach.
After being let go by ESPN last summer, Jackson recently launched a podcast with his son Mark Jackson II on the Come and Talk 2 Me YouTube channel, known for the Cam’ron and Ma$e show It Is What It Is. And during a recent episode of The Mark Jackson Show, Van Gundy’s name was broached. Jackson never shies away from the fact that he wants to coach in the NBA again, but according to him, Van Gundy’s head coaching lull is an injustice.
“It’s a crime that he’s not a head coach in this league,” Jackson said of Van Gundy. “I’m talking about as smart a basketball mind as I’ve ever been around in my life. And I’ve been around a lot of greats. It is a crime.
“People say I should be a head coach, I’m not gonna argue with them, I believe that wholeheartedly. Jeff Van Gundy, there’s so many guys trying to be him. Brilliant basketball mind and I look forward to having him on this show…love that guy, love him.”
Van Gundy has not been a head coach in the NBA since he parted ways with the Houston Rockets in 2007. That’s a really long layoff, even for someone who was always highly regarded as a head coach. But from 2007-2023, Van Gundy was so good as an analyst for ESPN that his drive to coach again was often questioned.
It wasn’t until recent years when he was linked to job openings with the New York Knicks, Houston Rockets, Los Angeles Clippers, and Minnesota Timberwolves that it seemed like Van Gundy was interested in being a head coach again. But even then, the opportunity would have needed to be good enough to lure him away from a much cushier position at ESPN.
Last summer, ESPN laid Van Gundy off, along with Jackson and nearly 20 other on-air stars. Maybe Van Gundy is more interested in coaching now that he’s no longer with ESPN. And Jackson certainly implied that’s the case. But Van Gundy has yet to be as open about his interest as Jackson has.
As for Jackson’s inability to land a coaching job since being fired by the Golden State Warriors in 2014, Stephen A. Smith recently suggested the former NBA point guard is being blackballed over “rumors.” Jackson has since pushed back on Smith’s implication on his podcast.
Whatever the reasons are, this is the first season in nearly three decades without Jeff Van Gundy and Mark Jackson serving as either a broadcaster or head coach in the NBA.
