Former Villanova coach Jay Wright not interested in Knicks head coach job

Jay Wright will not be the next head coach of the New York Knicks. The former Villanova men's basketball coach has informed the organization that he's not interested in succeeding Tom Thibodeau and will remain retired.

Wright added that he and Knicks president Leon Rose briefly discussed the position. Even though he and Rose are good friends, Wright reiterated his plans to remain retired as he never asked to interview for the vacancy. 

Additionally, the Knicks reportedly plan to ask the Mavericks for permission to interview head coach Jason Kidd. However, the Mavericks are expected to turn down any request the Knicks make to interview Kidd, longtime NBA insider Marc Stein reported Saturday. Kidd spent the final season of his playing career with the Knicks in 2012-13. 

In the moments after Thibodeau was fired, Wright was immediately viewed as a top candidate to replace him. He coached three of the Knicks' top players in college, winning multiple national championships with guard Jalen Brunson and forward Mikal Bridges. He also won a national title coaching wing Josh Hart.

However, some insiders viewed the Knicks' chances at obtaining the two-time national championship-winning head coach as a bit of a long shot. 

"Jay Wright is enjoying red wine, basketball, television and his family," FOX Sports college basketball expert John Fanta recently said on "The Herd." "If he wanted to coach again, he'd be the Villanova coach. Jay Wright is not going anywhere."

Wright, 63, announced his retirement from Villanova after leading the Wildcats to the Final Four in 2022. That marked his fourth Final Four trip as Villanova's head coach, winning eight Big East regular-season titles and five Big East Tournament titles to go with his two