Another College Coaching Legend Rejects Knicks Job

The amount of rejections the New York Knicks have heard from NCAA legends refusing to take the team up on their open head coaching offer is starting to really climb, nearly as high as the total declines they've heard from other teams rejecting the Knicks from speaking with their presently-employed coaches.

Arkansas head coach John Calipari now joins the ranks of UConn's Dan Hurley, St. John's Rick Pitino and former Villanova man Jay Wright as former championship-winning collegiate coaches to shoot down the Knicks' offer, with the Razorback shutting down rumors of his interest in the gig that's been left by the recently-fired Tom Thibodeau.

"I'm coaching at Arkansas, but [the Knicks] have a great organization, they got a terrific team," Calipari told the Golic and Golic show in discussing the open job. "...You have everything you need to win, and you have New York City. So, someone's going to get a hell of a job."

He recognized the challenges that come with the job, including the responsibility of taking over an Eastern Conference Finalist with championship expectations in one of the country's most dominant markets in making the case for the job as one-of-one.

Calipari maintained his loyalty to Arkansas after jumping from Kentucky just a year ago in the interview, specifying that "people are totally committed and committed to me," but considers this to be the kind of job that is due to get filled by someone who's up for the unique challenge that is leading the New York Knicks.

The team fired Thibodeau without a clear backup plan in mind, evidenced in the wild string of rejections they've heard since trying to parse through their favorite options. The candidates they seem to be circling have favored proven winners like Calipari, but he, like many of his peers, would rather stay home.