Jeff Van Gundy hasn't coached since 2007, but perhaps Anthony Davis can lure him back to the sideline. The ESPN/ABC analyst is interested in the New Orleans Pelicans' vacant head-coaching position, according to ESPN's Marc Stein:
Jeff Van Gundy has emerged as a candidate for the New Orleans Pelicans' head-coaching position, according to league sources. Sources told ESPN.com this week that the ESPN analyst has expressed interest in the opening and is under consideration for the job, which opened when the Pelicans dismissed Monty Williams earlier this month.
Van Gundy joins Golden State associate head coach Alvin Gentry and Chicago Bulls coach Tom Thibodeau as confirmed candidates for the position, according to NBA coaching sources.
Van Gundy has publicly declined to discuss the job opening, which is his standard policy whenever his name is linked to a specific team. It makes sense, though, that he'd consider this. Every year, coaching opportunities come up. Very rarely, though, do they involve working with someone like Davis, a 22-year-old who is already (arguably) one of the top three or four players on the planet.
If Van Gundy does end up in New Orleans, it'll be interesting to see what style of play he tries to establish. His teams in Houston and New York were usually near the bottom of the league in terms of pace, but that may have had more to do with personnel than anything else.
The league has changed quite a bit since Van Gundy became a broadcaster, but he knows that as much as anybody. A lot of fans are hoping the Pelicans can emulate the Golden State Warriors' play-fast-and-still-defend-like-crazy model -- perhaps he's the one to pull it off.
