Updated JAN 08, 2015 4:15p ET

NEW YORK

Bill Laimbeer wasn't surprised when the New York Liberty offered him his old job back as coach.

He never wanted to leave in the first place.

"They called and said, 'We want to chat about you coming back and being coach.' I said I'm all for that," Laimbeer said in a phone interview Thursday.

In an unusual move, the Liberty rehired Laimbeer as coach Thursday nearly three months after they chose to not exercise the option year on his contract.

"At the end of the season we wanted to take a look and do a full review where we were as a franchise as a basketball team," said Kristin Bernert, who is the senior vice president of business operations for the Liberty.

"We started down a path of evaluation and hit a point where we needed to make a decision on Bill's contract option. We weren't ready to make a decision at that point. We continued on the path of diving deep into who we are, where we are and who we want to be. We were on the right path, and wanted to bring Bill back as head coach."

The Liberty had missed the playoffs the past two seasons and were 26-42 under Laimbeer when they parted ways in October.

Read more from the original source:

Liberty rehire Bill Laimbeer as coach 3 months after dumping him