Eyes, Ears and Numbers: Tom Thibodeau Wants Diversity in Coaching Staff

The Tom Thibodeau era has begun in New York. The Knicks finally made Thibodeau’s hiring official on Thursday.

“Obviously, I’m excited today to be here,” Thibodeau said during his introductory Zoom press conference. “This is a dream come true to me. This is my dream job. I’ve been here before. I have a great understanding of New York. I think we have the best city in the world. We have the best arena in the world. We have the best fans.”

Things have come full circle for Thibodeau. He previously worked as an assistant coach for the Knicks from 1996 to 2003 under Jeff Van Gundy, including a Finals trip in 1999.

“I’ve experienced the Finals,” Thibodeau said. “There’s nothing like being in New York City at Madison Square Garden for the big games.”

The polarizing coach is expected to make sweeping changes across the board. This starts with the team’s culture - or lack thereof. The Knicks have nowhere to go but up. This May, appearing on The Platform Podcast, Thibs explained as such.

“How you build a culture is you have to sell your vision to your best players and your best players have to sell it to the rest of the team.

Your first meeting is the most important meeting of the year. You have to begin with the end in mind. What wins in the playoffs, these are the things that you have to do, building habits.”

Thibodeau has been praised by his peers for his commitment and unquestioned passion for the game. His attention to detail and a maniacal approach to preparation is legendary.

“As a coach, you want to prepare the whole offseason for what you're gonna do during the season,” Thibodeau said in May. “You’re gonna study the team, you’re gonna study the league and you’re gonna come up with a plan that you think will give you the best chance of being successful.”

Even before his hiring was made official, Thibodeau had already begun studying film of the current Knicks roster to have a sense of what kind of team he’s going to build on. Here’s Thibs again on The Platform pod:

“You also have to look at the makeup of your team: do you have a younger team? Do you have an older team? Do you have a team that went to the playoffs before? So, when the schedule comes out you map it out, you know when you're hitting the heavy parts of the season and when you’re hitting points of the season where you may not have much practice.”

The Knicks' current roster, pending any offseason roster moves, is one of the least experienced clubs in the NBA. Thibodeau’s last stint as a coach was an unsuccessful one with a young Minnesota team. To be successful in New York, Thibs will need to change tact, but also surround himself with the right assistants. Former Knicks head coach Mike Woodson has already been brought into the fold. Thibodeau explained how important his entire staff will be during his introductory presser.

“When you’re putting your staff together, you’re looking for qualities that will fit your team best. So, I think you always sit down with your front office on it.”

Back in May, Thibodeau hinted at what those qualities might be during his time on the Platform Podcast.

“The best leaders bring out the best in everyone they’re around,” Thibodeau said. “That’s what you want, a team of leaders. It’s like a team when you put a staff together. You have to have chemistry. You don’t want to be all the same.”

But his list of criteria doesn’t stop there. To Thibs, it’s also important that his staff have been around great coaching minds.

“Also, who they have been around. It’s different for different people like when you played in the league, you are a great player so let’s start there: have you been around with great coaches? Who is your high school coach? Who is your college coach? What pro coaches have you played for? If you are currently an assistant coach, what great coaches have you been around, and have you won at a high level? At least these things factor into it.”

A final factor for Thibs, one that could be critical for this young Knicks team, is a diversity of age and experience on the sideline. Thibodeau wants to have a mixed bag of young, middle-aged, and old coaches in his staff to bounce off ideas.

“Just like in a team, you wouldn’t want all older veterans...You’re trying to get different opinions in guys who see things like maybe you want the experience of a long-time assistant, you want the experience of a guy who played in the league maybe in the last three to four years, you want to get a lot of different thoughts.”

Along with Woodson, Mike Miller has strong internal support to join the coaching staff as per SportsNet New York. ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski, meanwhile, reported that Dallas assistant Jamahl Mosley and San Antonio’s Will Hardy both made a strong impression during the Knicks’ coaching search. Outside the league, Kentucky’s associate head coach Kenny Payne is also being considered.

Thibodeau has been around the block. He looks to the greats - Pat Riley, Chuck Daly, Hubie Brown - as he continues to reflect on his own coaching. Having great, seasoned experience at the helm is a critical resource. Thibodeau has dubbed this philosophy “Eyes, ears, and numbers.”

“Your trained eyes tell you from your own experiences what you think,” Thibodeau explained in May. “Then your ears are gonna tell you, okay from the people that I respect, what they think about this and the numbers will either confirm what you’re thinking or do they gonna give you something that says maybe I need to rethink this because this is a lot different from what I think I’m seeing.”

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