NEW YORK -- Mike Woodson had the Knicks on top of their division and in the second round of the playoffs, destinations that had become unreachable and practically unimaginable in New York. A year later, he was out of job. Phil Jackson fired Woodson and the entire coaching staff on Monday, making his first big move since becoming team president in March and saying in a statement that "the time has come for change throughout the franchise." The dismissal comes shortly after the Knicks completed a 37-45 season that began with their belief they were a serious contender. Instead, they started poorly, making Woodsons job security practically a season-long distraction. A late surge wasnt good enough for a post-season spot or another year for Woodson. It was a stunningly swift fall for Woodson, whose .580 winning percentage with the Knicks ranks behind only Pat Riley and Jeff Van Gundy, and who finished third in the NBAs Coach of the Year voting after going 54-28 last season. He and the staff were informed of the decision Monday morning by Jackson, the man the Knicks originally wanted to replace Woodson as coach but preferred to run the teams front office. Jackson has won an NBA-record 11 championships as a coach. He has repeatedly said hes not interested in returning to the bench, so he will have to hire someone before he turns his attention to the roster. The team said the coaching search begins immediately. Jackson said he has a "tremendous amount of respect" for Woodson and his staff, which included longtime Knicks assistant Herb Williams. Jackson called this an "extremely difficult" season and said "blame should not be put on one individual." "But the time has come for change throughout the franchise as we start the journey to assess and build this team for next season and beyond," he added. Jackson has said he wont insist the Knicks run the triangle, the offensive system he used in Chicago and with the Lakers, but has made clear his belief in it. TNT analyst Steve Kerr, who played for Jackson with the Bulls but has never been a coach, has repeatedly been mentioned as a top candidate. Kerr said Monday during his SiriusXM NBA Radio show that he and Jackson have remained close and that he expected to speak with him at some point about the job. "Its going to be very interesting and obviously my name is being thrown around. I do anticipate at least being part of the conversation and well see where it all goes," Kerr said. Jackson is scheduled to speak with reporters on Wednesday. Woodson, a former Knicks first-round draft pick, was hired as an assistant coach before the 2011-12 season, then engineered an 18-6 finish after replacing Mike DAntoni on an interim basis the following March to capture a playoff spot. Given a multiyear deal two months later, Woodson then led the Knicks to their first Atlantic Division championship since 1994. New York then beat Boston in the playoffs, its first series victory since 2000, and general manager Steve Mills picked up next seasons option year on Woodsons contract before this season began. But the Knicks were saddled with some early injuries, including centre Tyson Chandlers broken leg, and lacked the veteran leadership they enjoyed last season. Madison Square Garden chairman James Dolan was already considering replacing Woodson by December, when he met with Jackson at a holiday party and talked to him about coaching the team. Carmelo Anthony praised his coach Thursday and even offered to back him publicly if necessary. But it was probably a clear sign Woodson wouldnt be back a few minutes later when Amare Stoudemire said the coach hadnt taken part in the exit meetings with players that Jackson and Mills held. Woodson previously coached six seasons with the Atlanta Hawks, leading them to the playoffs in his final three seasons. He has a career record of 315-365. Woodson went 109-79 with the Knicks, who hadnt even made the playoffs since 2004 before he led them there in 2012. But he lost one of his biggest supporters within the organization when general manager Glen Grunwald, Woodsons college teammate at Indiana, was surprisingly fired last September. Players and fans sometimes grumbled during the season about Woodsons strategies as the defence regressed and the offence was inconsistent beyond Anthony, who plans to become a free agent in July. Chandler said there probably was some "disconnect" and "misunderstanding" at times. "Coach Woodson put together a game plan for us on the basketball court and there were times we didnt totally buy into it," Stoudemire said last week. Still, the Knicks nearly rallied to make the playoffs by winning 16 of their final 21 games. But Woodson, who said he and Jackson had only brief chats in Jacksons first month in charge, said before the season finale he knew the coach often takes the blame. "Everyone in this franchise owes a great deal of gratitude to what Mike and his staff have done," Jackson said. "We wish him the best." Jesus Sucre Jersey . Wheeler scored two goals, including the winner, as the Winnipeg Jets beat the Minnesota Wild 6-4 on Friday in a game that featured a seven-goal first period. Nathan Eovaldi Jersey . - Regan Smith had the checkered flag in sight at Daytona a year ago and a freight train of cars in his rearview mirror. http://www.officialraysgearshop.com/Rays-Jonny-Venters-Kids-Jersey/ . With Washington teammate Nene drawing double-teams coming off his big game against the Lakers, Gortat scored 25 points on 11-of-12 shooting and grabbed eight rebounds to lead the Wizards to a 100-92 win in overtime over Milwaukee on Wednesday night. Carlos Gomez Jersey . The 26-year-old Sobotka injured his left leg playing for the St. Louis Blues in a 3-1 loss to the Carolina Hurricanes on Friday. The Blues said he would not recover from the injury in time for the Olympic tournament. Rob Refsnyder Jersey . Howard hit a three-run homer with two outs in the bottom of the ninth inning to lift the Philadelphia Phillies to a 6-3 win over the Colorado Rockies on Wednesday night. DAYTON, Ohio -- Dont get discouraged, coach Cuonzo Martin told his Volunteers during those long NCAA tournament timeouts. Instead, hang in there and figure a way to pull it out. They went about it a most improbable way. With forward Jarnell Stokes using his 280 pounds to dominate inside and a highly regarded defence finally locking in, Tennessee pulled off the first amazing comeback of the NCAA tournament. Stokes opened overtime with a three-point play that put Tennessee ahead to stay, and the Volunteers defence shut down Iowa in overtime for a 78-65 victory on Wednesday night, finishing off the First Four with an exclamation point. "I told our guys weve been through everything this season, keep your composure down the stretch," said Martin, who got his first NCAA tournament win in his third season at Tennessee. "Find ways to win the ball game." The Vols (22-12) head to Raleigh, N.C., where theyll play sixth-seeded Massachusetts on Friday in the Midwest Regional. They left Dayton with a lot of momentum -- six wins in their last seven games. "We did a tremendous job toward the end of fighting back," said Jordan McRae, who had 20 points. "We did a great job on our defence. For us to hold them like we did was a great job." Tennessee didnt lead until Antonio Bartons 3-pointer put the Vols up 59-57 with 3:05 left regulation. There were five lead changes before McRae missed a jumper missed at the buzzer, leaving it tied at 64. No surprise that Barton made the big shot. The senior transfer is the only Volunteer with any significant NCAA tournament experience, having appeared in three of them with Memphis. Stokes three-point play in overtime was the key moment in his 18-point, 13-rebound performance, putting the Volunteers ahead to stay. It was his 20th double-double this season, the most by a Volunteer since Bernard King had 22 of them in 1976-77. Tennessees highly regarded defence took it from there, holding Iowa (21-13) to one free throw the rest of the way. The Hawkeyes missed all eight of their shots from the field in overtime. "You go tthrough anything so often -- being in those games, being in those situations -- were a much better team the last eight games," Martin said.dddddddddddd "Guys stepped up and made plays." It was a tough ending to a long and stressful day for Iowa coach Fran McCaffery. He started the day in Iowa with his teenage son, Patrick, who had surgery to remove a thyroid tumour. His assistant coaches led the Hawkeyes through a meeting and their final practice, and McCaffery was back by game time. Martin and the Volunteers hugged him after the game and wished him well. "Their players hugged me and told me they were thinking of me," McCaffery said. "I was really impressed with their guys and the program Cuonzo has built there." Adam Woodbury had 16 points for Iowa, which got a subpar performance from its leading scorer. Roy Devyn Marble was only 3 of 15 from the field for seven points, matching his season low. "I dont think we ran out of gas," Woodbury said. "We made some key mistakes down the stretch and that hurt us." The ending will sting the Hawkeyes for a long time. They were struggling as they headed into their first NCAA tournament appearance since 2006, losing six of their previous seven games. Defence was the biggest problem, often letting them down in the second half. They opened the game in promising fashion, switching from man-to-man to zone to half-court traps. It worked. They got off to a 16-4 lead and were still ahead 29-26 at halftime. They kept swatting away the Volunteers runs until the last few minutes of regulation. Marbles basket tied it at 64, and he was guarding McCrae when he missed his fade-away shot at the buzzer sending it to overtime. Tennessee got an at-large bid by closing the season with a defensive flourish. The Volunteers won five straight before losing to No. 1 Florida 56-49 in the Southeastern Conference tournament. They gave up 61.1 points per game, second only to Florida in the SEC, and allowed an average of only 47.4 points in the last four games. In overtime, that defence decided it. 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