Knicks interview Mike Woodson with head coaching decision expected by July 31

Former Knicks coach Mike Woodson interviewed for the club’s head-coaching vacancy on Friday, sources said.

Friday was Woodson’s second interview with the club. Woodson and all other candidates had initial interviews with the Knicks last month or in the first week of July.

The Knicks’ second-round interviews are expected to conclude in the coming days. It is unclear if any candidates will be asked to interview a third time.

New York plans to make a decision its next head coach before July 31, when the NBA resumes its regular season in Orlando.

Woodson amassed a 109-79 record as a Knicks head coach. Remarkably, he's also the only coach in the past 20 years to lead New York to a playoff series win (2013). He’s the only coach to post a winning record for New York in the past seven seasons.

In an interview with SNY recently, Woodson talked about what he would bring to the Knicks if given the opportunity to coach the club again.

“I did my job when I was here. We won games. The fan base was engaged. I walked out of the Garden many nights thinking that the fans were proud and excited about what we were doing. Am I capable of coming back to New York and helping them build a winning team again? I feel confident in that, I absolutely do,” said Woodson, who was fired by then team president Phil Jackson at the end of the 2013-14 season. “I think with the people in charge, with (team president) Leon (Rose) and (GM) Scott (Perry) and Jim (Dolan) and everyone else that they hired on board, they will build a winner. At the end of the day, it takes everybody being on board to make it happen. That's what we did (the last time I was here). We all had a great working relationship when I was here. That can definitely happen again.”

Woodson, Knicks interim coach Mike Miller, Golden State assistant Mike Brown, ex-Nets coach Kenny Atkinson, Bulls assistant Chris Fleming and former Bulls and Wolves coach Tom Thibodeau are among the group of coaches who have or will interview with the club this week.

Dallas assistant Jamahl Mosely, San Antonio assistant Will Hardy, Philadelphia 76ers lead assistant Ime Udoka and Orlando Magic assistant Pat Delany interviewed for the job prior to the group of coaches listed above because they are coaching in Orlando for the NBA’s restart.

Team president Leon Rose, executive vice president and senior advisor William “World Wide Wes” Wesley, GM Scott Perry and Vice President of Basketball and Strategic Planning Brock Aller are among the group of Knicks participating in the interviews, per SNY sources.

New York has two first-round picks and an early second-round pick in the 2020 NBA Draft. So they may have one of the younger rosters in the league next season. If that’s the case, the next head coach would ideally have a strong player development background.

Woodson noted in the interview with SNY that thrived in developing players in Atlanta, which was built into a perennial playoff contender during his seven-year tenure.

“When I think about young ball clubs, I think about what we went through in Atlanta. It was a struggle early,” Woodson said. “We had a ton of young players. Josh Smith, who turned out to be a wonderful player. Marvin Williams, who is still in our league. Josh Childress, Donta Smith, Royal Ivey, Salim Stoudamire, Al Horford. We ended up building something sustainable, in part, because we developed those guys.

“(Hawks executive) Billy Knight was on to something. We build that team through the draft and free agency. We brought Joe Johnson in. Tyronn Lue came in as a point guard to jump start us. We picked up Zaza Pachulia and we became a competitive ballclub. We added Mike Bibby and Jamal Crawford, those were the two final pieces to the puzzle. Jamal won the Sixth Man award. We made the playoffs every year those guys were there.”

Phil Jackson fired Woodson at the end of the 2013-14 season. Coming off of a 54-win season the year prior, the club was beset by injuries but finished the season 16-4 once fully healthy. The Knicks finished one game out of the playoffs.

In the interview with SNY, Woodson said that season was his fondest in New York.

“When we got in a hole, they didn’t quit,” Woodson said of the team. “And when we got our players back, we won 16 of our last 20 games and made a strong push to make the playoffs and missed it by one game. That team could have easily quit and said, ‘Let’s go home for the summer.’ They didn’t do that. When we got Tyson (Chandler) and Raymond (Felton) back, we made a mad push and we were back playing Knick basketball again. We got our players back and we won.

“Had they gone the other way and we continued to lose, there’s not a thing I can say. But that wasn’t the case. From a coaching standpoint, that was my best year. Because we coached them up at the end and we made a big push to make that eighth spot. And had we gotten it, it would have put a lot of pressure on Phil Jackson to make the decision that he did (Jackson fired Woodson the day after the regular season ended).”

Agents and coaches who have a vested interest in the Knicks' process have long believed that Rose is most likely to hire Thibodeau as his head coach. Atkinson, as SNY reported, also has strong internal support. Kentucky’s John Calipari would also be a strong candidate for the job if he chose to leave Kentucky. But there is no indication that Calipari would consider making the jump to the NBA again.

If they aren't hired as the head coach, Woodson, Miller and other candidates outside of Atkinson and Thibodeau could get consideration as assistants on the Knicks’ next coaching staff.

The New York Daily News first reported that the Knicks were scheduled to interview Woodson on Friday.