It seems like Mike Woodson could be returning to his Detroit basketball roots.
Multiple media outlets reported that the former Atlanta Hawks coach interviewed for the Detroit Pistons coaching vacancy. It would be a return to Detroit for Woodson, who was an assistant under legendary coach Larry Brown when the Pistons won the NBA Championship in the 2003-04 campaign.
Woodson went from the penthouse to the outhouse the next season, taking over a young Hawks team that posted just 13 wins and failed to win back-to-back games all season.
Nevertheless, Woodson's patience paid off over time as the Hawks improved each year he coached the team, culminating in a 53-win season and a second-round playoff appearance in the 2009-10 campaign. He finished with a 206-286 in six years at the helm of the Hawks.
If Woodson gets the Detroit job, he will have his work cut out for him with a young Pistons team that finished a disappointing 30-52 last season.
Of course, Woodson is just one of a handful of candidates that new owner Tom Gores is looking at.
ESPN's Marc Stein reports that the Pistons have met with former New Jersey Nets coach Lawrence Frank and that the organization is also looking at Milwaukee Bucks assistant coach Kelvin Sampson and Dallas Mavericks assistant coach Dwane Casey.
Sampson was also an assistant coach on the '03-04 Pistons championship team.
Another possibility mentioned in the ESPN report to head the Pistons is former bad-boy center Bill Laimbeer, who is an assistant with the Minnesota Timberwolves.