The New York Knicks are looking to fill their head coaching vacancy after firing head coach Tom Thibodeau and it seems the rightful decision to let Thibodeau go was made by everyone's favorite team owner, James Dolan. According to Vince Goodwill of Yahoo Sports, "Thibodeau’s firing [was] spearheaded by Knicks owner James Dolan" with the owner asking "the questions in the meeting while [Knicks president Leon] Rose took a secondary role".
James Dolan reportedly “spearheaded” Tom Thibodeau’s firing, per @VinceGoodwill.
— Legion Hoops (@LegionHoops) June 8, 2025
“What was clear was Thibodeau’s firing being spearheaded by Knicks owner James Dolan, sources told Yahoo Sports. Dolan and team president Leon Rose held exit meetings with key Knicks players and the… pic.twitter.com/1hpjqpamUc
New York is heading towards an eventful offseason after falling short in the Eastern Conference Finals due to not having enough depth, among other issues. Thibodeau, whose harsh personality has contributed to the development and success of Jalen Brunson, OG Anunoby, and others, has struggled to manage his usage of his veterans without overusing them to the point of extreme risk for injury throughout his career, including in New York.
Dolan, who has been a pariah in NYC for the majority of his ownership of the franchise has recently had a good PR uptick since the squad has been in the hunt for a trip to the NBA Finals since signing Brunson to a four-year, $104 million contract before the start of the 2022-23 season. As a whole, Dolan's popularity has soared in recent years and his recent decision to fire his head coach will likely be viewed as the right move in the future.
Dolan's possibly accidental decision to fire Thibs is likely the right move
In all reality, this situation could be highly similar to the Warriors in the early 2010s as the franchise had an exciting core of Steph Curry, Klay Thompson, and Draymond Green but was being held back by former Golden State coach Mark Jackson.
Although Steve Kerr's system was great, it's obvious that the franchise benefited from a different set of eyes who can bring a different offensive system and usage in the regular season. Sometimes, the guy who helps usher in a new era isn't the right guy to see the new vision to its pinnacle. That was the case with the Warriors and could well be the case with the Knicks, too.
As a whole, Thibodeau was a great developmental coach. Still, his tendencies to overuse players in the regular season and his constant denial of playing or having young players on the roster are why firing him is likely for the best. Whether Dolan made this decision by accident or for some other reason is unknown, but the decision is still likely the right one.