When his agent, Carl Hirsch, told him the Knicks had expressed interest in talking to him about their then-vacant head-coaching position, Wright was flattered. However, he told his agent to tell the Knicks thanks, but no thanks.
“It’s not that you’re not interested, I just don’t want to leave,” Wright told the New York Post. “It’s the Knicks. You love the Garden, you love New York City, you love the Knicks. I just know I don’t want to leave Villanova.”
“I love my job,” added the 56-year-old Wright, who was at the annual BTIG Charity Day in Manhattan, where athletes and celebrities acted as guest stock traders taking calls from clients to raise money for different charities.
“You would love that opportunity, that challenge, especially in New York, especially the Knicks, but you have to leave your job, and I love my job.”
It’s hard to blame him. While the Knicks have won one playoff series in the last 18 years and are coming off four consecutive 50-loss seasons, Villanova has won two of the last three national championships — emerging recently as one of the premier programs in the country behind the even-keeled Wright, who is coming off his 17th season with the Wildcats. The Knicks ended up hiring former Grizzlies coach David Fizdale after an exhaustive search:
https://nypost.com/2018/05/08/why-villanovas-jay-wright-took-a-pass-on-knicks-interview/
