ESPN is letting go of NBA analyst Jeff Van Gundy after the former head coach spent 16 years with the network, Andrew Marchand of The New York Post reports. The move is part of ESPN’s next round of layoffs, as the network is expected to let go of around 20 on-air personalities, according to Marchand.
Van Gundy declined comment to The Athletic’s Richard Deitsch, who confirmed the report’s accuracy.
Van Gundy coached basketball to start his professional career, first as an assistant coach at Providence and Rutgers then as an assistant with the Knicks. He was promoted to the head coach of the Knicks in 1996, and after seven years in New York, became the Rockets head coach for another four seasons.
Houston fired Van Gundy after the 2006–07 season, and the veteran coach immediately joined ESPN as an NBA in-game analyst. He, along with Mike Breen and eventually Mark Jackson, former the network’s top broadcasting crew as Van Gundy was part of the broadcast for 16 NBA Finals.
It is unclear whether ESPN will look to replace Van Gundy or go with a two-man booth featuring just Breen and Jackson.
