South Carolina Gamecocks head coach Dawn Staley continues to be linked with the New York Knicks’ new head coach role. The Knicks, who are coming off their first Eastern Conference Finals appearance in 25 years, with the last one coming in the year 2000, fired head coach Tom Thibodeau on June 3 and have been actively looking for someone to fill the vacated position.
On June 27, COMPLEX’s Instagram account reported that the New York-based team has contacted Staley for her interest in the role. On Monday, June 30, Gamecocks Athletic Director Jeremiah Donati confirmed the rumor through college basketball reporter Talia Goodman and even gave his take on it.
“NEWS: South Carolina athletic director Jeremiah Donati confirmed to @On3sports that the New York Knicks did reach out to Dawn Staley about the opening,” @TaliaGoodmanWBB on X reported.
“If I were them, I would have called her too,” Donati told On3 Sports.
NEWS: South Carolina athletic director Jeremiah Donati confirmed to @On3sports that the New York Knicks did reach out to Dawn Staley about the opening.
“If I were them, I would have called her, too,” Donati told @On3sports.
— Talia Goodman (@TaliaGoodmanWBB) June 30, 2025
Staley remains under contract with Donati’s program, and there are no indications of her leaving, given that the tenured tactician has garnered a lot of success in collegiate hoops. Staley is a three-time national champion coach with the Gamecocks, winning in 2017, 2022, and 2024. Apart from this, she has turned the Gamecocks into one of the powerhouse teams coming out of the SEC year in and year out.
In the 2024-25 season, South Carolina finished with an overall record of 35-4 (15-1, SEC) but had its 2024 national title defense spoiled by coach Geno Auriemma’s UConn Huskies in the 2025 NCAA championship game, losing 82-59.
Dawn Staley is Under Contract with the South Carolina Gamecocks Until 2030
On January 17 of this year, Dawn Staley signed a contract extension with the South Carolina Gamecocks that will keep her with the team until the 2029-30 season and potentially make her the highest-paid women’s basketball coach of all time. The 55-year-old currently has a base annual salary of $4 million with the new contract, which can increase by $250,000 each year.
What sets this contract apart from a regular signing, however, is a clause that allows Staley to depart from the Gamecocks and void her contract for any head or assistant coaching role in the NBA or WNBA. Even then, Staley has reasserted on multiple occasions that her commitment remains in South Carolina, where she has been the head coach since 2008.
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