Jeff Hornacek will be the 25th head coach the Knicks have hired since 1946, not counting interim placeholders. Exactly five of his 24 predecessors can be termed “successful,” by whatever parameters you choose to define the word.
This is not exactly the same kind of success ratio as, say, Trident gum, and the four out of five dentists surveyed who’ve recommended it to their patients who chew gum, and have for roughly the same amount of time as the Knicks have been trying to master the art of hiring a reasonably competent basketball coach.
Of the five success stories, just two are what you might call no-brainers.