Jeff Hornacek Reportedly to Be Knicks Coach: Twitter Reacts to New York's Hire

Phil Jackson is finally going outside the family. According to reports Wednesday, the New York Knicks president tabbed his next head coach and is set to hire former Phoenix Suns boss Jeff Hornacek.

Bleacher Report's Howard Beck first reported the news. Hornacek, 53, went 101-112 in parts of three seasons in Phoenix. He was fired in February following an ugly 14-35 start.

Zach Lowe of ESPN analyzed the pick from a big-picture perspective:

Hornacek was one of four known candidates for the job, per ESPN.com's Marc Stein. The prohibitive favorite throughout the process was interim coach Kurt Rambis, who took over for Derek Fisher 54 games into the campaign. The Knicks went 9-19 under Rambis, but that was largely seen as irrelevant.

Rambis is a longtime Jackson confidante who shares nearly identical basketball philosophies. In some ways, it was thought that if Jackson couldn't coach the team himself, he'd install Rambis to maintain a strong influence. When the Knicks didn't hire Rambis, the Twittersphere went all out with varying reactions—most of them bordering on glee:

Jackson has hired almost exclusively from within his inner circle since becoming the Knicks president. Fisher, who was Jackson's longtime point guard with the Los Angeles Lakers, was given the coaching job immediately after his retirement as a player. Jackson filled up Fisher's staff with the likes of Rambis and Jim Cleamons, who were known for being Jacksonites rather than great coaches.

Reaction assessing Jackson's role in hiring Hornacek varied:

Or maybe Phil didn't step too far outside the box after all:

Here is a look at some more top reactions on the hire:

The situation here is simple. If Jackson fails in making this coaching hire, his entire tenure as Knicks president may go down in flames. While it was likely tempting for him to pick Rambis, it would have been impossible to justify after his years of bumbling results as a head coach.

Hornacek ran an uptempo offense in Phoenix that took a seemingly tanking team and made it a playoff contender. Kristaps Porzingis may get time at center, leaving Carmelo Anthony to play the 4—the spot he's long been best at.

There's a chance that basketball in New York may actually turn around this time.

Follow Tyler Conway (@jtylerconway) on Twitter.