Patrick Ewing firmly believes he has earned consideration as a head coach. But the calls never came last summer, even with five jobs open around the N.B.A., and despite Ewing’s resume as a Hall of Fame center.

“It’s rough,” he said this week.

So Ewing will renew his push this summer, and with a powerful new ally. He recently hired Lonnie Cooper, who is perhaps the most influential coaching agent in the N.B.A. Cooper has been representing coaches for 24 years and has a deep and talented stable of clients that includes Doc Rivers, Eddie Jordan and Nate McMillan.

“I really believe in him,” Cooper said of Ewing, “and I think he will be a head coach.”

Ewing had been represented by the agent David Falk for 25 years, since his rookie season with the Knicks. But Falk is limited by rules that prohibit agents from simultaneously representing coaches and players. It was Falk, who is also close to Cooper, who recommended the move to Ewing.

“I’m very serious about trying to get a job,” Ewing said. “He definitely knows a lot of people — knows a lot coaches, knows a lot of GMs, represents a lot of them. So he definitely is someone who is in the mix.”