On Tuesday, the New York Knicks shocked the NBA world by firing head coach Tom Thibodeau just days after he led them to their first Eastern Conference Finals appearance in 25 years. Thibodeau helped resurrect the Knicks' franchise from laughing stock to contender over the last few years, but that wasn't enough to convince the team's front office that a change was not needed.

The Thibodeau firing drew a host of reactions from throughout the NBA world.

One person who wasn't thrilled with the Knicks' decision was popular radio host Christopher “Mad Dog” Russo, who took to “Mad Dog Unleashed” to relay his thoughts.

“This is about (James) Dolan,” said Russo, per Jimmy Traina on X. “Don't let anybody in America say, ‘ah, this is Leon Rose.' Nonsense… Rose and Thibodeau are tight… Rose doesn't have any power there. Dolan does. He sits on the baseline with a dopey hat on… he knows nothing. He's there because his old man was a brilliant businessman, and he took over. That's what this is all about.”

Indeed, James Dolan has drawn the ire of the Knicks fanbase over the years for some of the decisions he has made with the team, and as Russo noted, the relationship between Thibodeau and Leon Rose didn't appear on the brink of fracture at any point over the last few seasons.

A big decision for the Knicks

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While Thibodeau certainly deserves credit for helping revive the Knicks' franchise in the 2020s, there were some questions as to whether this group had hit its ceiling with him at the helm. Throughout these playoffs, Thibodeau made some puzzling lineup decisions, including playing Cameron Payne more minutes than most fans probably would have advised as well as making a jarring change to his rotation midway through the Pacers series, seemingly letting the outside noise influence his decision-making process.

The search will now begin for a new Knicks head coach, and already, fans have begun floating names like Michael Malone and Mike Budenholzer as potential Thibs replacements.

Whatever direction the Knicks choose to go in, it's clear that the team felt a change was needed.