Former NBA bench tacticians Jeff Van Gundy and Tom Thibodeau are reported to be among the top candidates to become the new head coach of the Minnesota Timberwolves come next season.

ESPN reported that the Timberwolves are interested in bringing back either Van Gundy or Thibodeau this summer to coach the team on a long term basis moving forward.

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The report said that the two premier coaches "have quickly emerged as the top two candidates in Minnesota's search" to replace former interim head coach Sam Mitchell, who was fired on April 14th after leading the Wolves to a 29-53 record in the recently concluded 2015-2016 regular season.

Yahoo Sports noted that team owner Glen Taylor will be assisted by executive search firm Korn Ferry in interviewing potential candidates, which included the two former NBA coaches mentioned above.

Korn Ferry is said to be responsible for the signing of Stan Van Gundy, Jeff's older brother, as the head coach and president of basketball operations for the Detroit Pistons and the Wolves are allegedly "pushing for the firm's research and input into the possible recreation of the Pistons' model with the Timberwolves".

The younger Van Gundy was a former head coach of the New York Knicks and the Houston Rockets while Thibodeau is the ex-head coach of the Chicago Bulls. Thibodeau was also an assistant coach for the Wolves, San Antonio Spurs, Philadelphia 76ers, Knicks, Rockets, and Boston Celtics before he became top boss in Chicago.

Minnesota is allegedly ready to move forward from Mitchell's regime, who took over from the late Flip Saunders in October of last year, thus the search for the new basketball executive of the franchise. There are also rumors that general manager Mill Newton's job is also up in the air as of the moment as the new management is also planning to replace him.

Reports have said that the presence of its young core of Andrew Wiggins, Karl-Anthony Towns, and Zach LaVine has been drawing former NBA coaches to apply for the Timberwolves' vacant position.

TagsNBA News & Rumors, NBA News & Rumors 2016, Timberwolves news & rumors, TImberwolves news & rumors 2016, Minnesota Timberwolves, Jeff Van Gundy, Tom Thibodeau