Jackson has some explaining to do about hiring Jeff Hornacek: First things first: Jeff Hornacek and the Knicks were deep in talks Thursday to iron out the details of a contract, agreeing in principle on a deal to make Hornacek the team’s next head coach. And Hornacek is, according to everyone you ask, a very nice man and a capable head coach. -- The Record
Jeff Hornacek is most shocking call Phil Jackson could make: As contract details started being hammered out Thursday and Jeff Hornacek took a tour of the Knicks’ Tarrytown training facility, the five-week coaching search was ending with team president Phil Jackson pulling a rabbit out of his hat. The Zen Master has made the triangle disappear in a New York shocker by hiring Hornacek, passing on his buddy Kurt Rambis and documented candidates Frank Vogel and David Blatt. -- New York Post
Carmelo Anthony reportedly a fan of Jeff Hornacek hiring: Carmelo Anthony said he hoped Knicks president Phil Jackson, once he opened the team’s search for a new coach, would “give everybody a shot to come in and say what they have to say and see if you like that person or not.” Well, Jackson fell for Jeff Hornacek on Monday, and a source said Anthony likes the choice. -- New York Post
Everyone agrees Jeff Hornacek is a nice guy, but can he coach?: There wasn’t a moment, a game, a shot that made Jeff Hornacek stand out in the eyes of former teammate Tyrone Corbin. “I can’t think of any one moment. It was just playing the game with him as his teammate and being around him,” said Corbin, who played with Hornacek with the Suns and Jazz and then gave his former teammate a coaching start with Utah in 2007. -- New York Post
Jeff Hornacek’s brother knows what Knicks’ new hire wants: Jeff Hornacek was so hush-hush before his Knicks interview Monday with Phil Jackson, he refused to tell his mother or brother. “He told us he had an interview with a team but couldn’t tell her who it was with — it was a secret,” his brother, John Hornacek, told The Post by phone Thursday. -- New York Post
Knicks’ hiring of Jeff Hornacek is good news for Kristaps Porzingis, Carmelo Anthony: Jeff Hornacek should already have the support of the one player he can’t live without. It’s the same player that must buy in to make this all work. If the reports are indeed true that the Knicks soon-to-be hired head coach has the freedom to throw away Phil Jackson’s triangle offense like yesterday’s trash, then Hornacek has recorded his first big victory in New York. A 7-foot-3 victory, in fact. -- New York Daily News
Knicks get their coach as Jeff Hornacek, team has an agreement in principle on deal: A search that wasn’t so much exhaustive as it was exhausting has reached the home stretch. As the Daily News first reported, the Knicks and Jeff Hornacek came to an agreement in principle Thursday, clearing the way for the unlikely candidate to replace Kurt Rambis. -- New York Daily News
Jeff Hornacek hire at least gets Knicks in conversation during NBA playoff telecasts: The Knicks have “made” it to the NBA playoffs. In their own inimitable style, the organization has crashed Adam Silver’s party the only way it can — providing the media with yet another circus to cover. This time around, Phil Jackson’s (or is it James Dolan’s) center ring attraction is Jeff Hornacek, he of the 101-112 coaching record. This man is either lion tamer or clown, depending on whether your loyalty to the Knicks is blind or realistic. -- New York Daily News
Jeff Hornacek’s Iowa State teammates and coaches think forgotten NCAA Tournament hero has temperament to lead Knicks: Before he became a head coach, before he was a sweet-shooting NBA guard who won two Western Conference titles with the Jazz during a 14-year career, Jeff Hornacek had his One Shining Moment. Hornacek, who dined with Phil Jackson and Steve Mills Wednesday night in Manhattan and is close to becoming the new Knicks head coach, cemented his place in Iowa State basketball lore 30 years ago when he sunk a long jumper as time expired in overtime to give the No. 7 Cyclones an 81-79 victory over 10th seeded, and Ron Harper-led, Miami of Ohio in the first round of the NCAA Tournament on March 14, 1986. -- New York Daily News
It’s Not a Riddle at All: What Led the Knicks to Jeff Hornacek: Assuming the contract details will be a formality and the mutual interest that Phil Jackson and Jeff Hornacek have expressed to each other leads to Hornacek’s becoming the next Knicks head coach, here is what fans will be getting, aside from their wish that it be anyone but the interim incumbent Kurt Rambis: Not an A-list media star. Not an interview room entertainer. But someone who does fit Jackson’s stated preference for a candidate with whom he has some spiritual or philosophical familiarity. -- The New York Times
Jeff Hornacek offered job by Knicks, source says: The Knicks are moving closer to naming Jeff Hornacek as their next coach. According to a league source, they have offered their coaching job to Hornacek, contract talks have begun and they’re progressing. -- Newsday