With fresh vacancies at the coaching and GM positions, Donnie Walsh has quite a bit of interviewing to do over the coming months. According to Newsday, today will mark the beginning of the interview process. Despite rumors to the contrary, Walsh has not met with anybody yet, and that includes Mark Jackson. Today, he sits down with Herb Williams:
Williams essentially is trying to find out if Walsh will consider him for the job and, if not, whether he will remain with the organization.
"There are no expectations," a person close to Williams said. "[Walsh] knows him. He had him before as a player. It's not like he's a stranger."
Walsh and Williams go back to when Walsh first joined the Pacers and Williams was a young player there. The two have maintained a good relationship and a mutual respect. But Walsh seemed to stammer when asked if he would give Williams an interview. "Herb has not - obviously we just made this announcement - and I will, if Herb wants an interview," he said. "I know Herb. He played for us with the Pacers and I have a lot of respect for Herb."
Walsh plans to meet with all of the assistant coaches this week, though Williams is the only one to have been mentioned as a candidate for the top spot. (For what it's worth, George Glymph and Mark Aguirre, as Isiah hiring, are expected to leave). I've often mentioned in this space that I really admire Herb and think he'd make a great head coach. I'm starting to get the impression, though, that to achieve the clear "culture change" that Walsh is looking for, a fresh face might be necessary. It might be hard to convey a new brand of basketball with a familiar face at the helm. In any event, I'm glad Herb's getting a look at the head coaching spot, and I'm really hoping he'll stick around in some respect. Leave your thoughts on Herb and the rest of the Knick coaching staff in the comments.