Jeff Van Gundy and Houston Rockets officials remained tightlipped on Thursday, but it's only a matter of time before Van Gundy is installed as the club's next head coach.

Van Gundy, who earlier this week emerged as the favorite to replace Rudy Tomjanovich, was in Houston on Thursday to look at houses and schools in the area, as well as tour the Rockets' facilities.

A source told ESPN's Jim Gray that Van Gundy and the team have not reached a financial agreement yet, but "[the Rockets have] made their choice" to hire Van Gundy. The Rockets would not bring him to Houston unless they were confident they could reach a contract agreement, the source told Gray.

Van Gundy stayed away from specifics Thursday when asked about becoming the successor to Tomjanovich, who stepped down on May 23.

"I've never felt comfortable talking about business," said Van Gundy, whose most recent job has been as a television analyst. "I'm a coach."

Rockets general manager Carroll Dawson also was tight-lipped Thursday.

Asked if he's made an offer to Van Gundy,the former coach of the New York Knicks, Dawson replied: "We will if it works out."

Neither would confirm a report Thursday by Houston television station KRIV that cited unidentified league sources saying Van Gundy was negotiating a four- or five-year deal to coach the Rockets.

"It's a great job," Van Gundy said, acknowledging the courtship by the Rockets was flattering. "There are a lot of people who want it. It's obviously a great sports town, a new arena, good, young talent."

Dawson said earlier in the week that Van Gundy and Mike Dunleavy are the two finalists for the Houston job, but Gray's source said Dunleavy is a front-runner to get the coaching job in Atlanta. The Rockets also had met with Paul Silas and Larry Brown.

On Monday, Silas was introduced as Cleveland Cavaliers coach and Brown was named coach of the Detroit Pistons.

Van Gundy said Thursday that he also had interviewed with a couple of other teams. He would name only the Washington Wizards, saying he talked with them Wednesday about their vacant coaching and president of basketball operations positions.

"[Wednesday,] I spoke to the Wizards for a good length of time," he said. "We'll just wait and see how everything works out."

Wizards officials have maintained the team does not plan to hire a coach until it names a president of basketball operations.

Van Gundy said he spoke briefly with Tomjanovich, describing him as an icon and one of the game's great coaches.

"You've got big shoes to fill," he said. "You just try to build on what they accomplished here."

But he said he told Tomjanovich that if he took the job, the former coach always would be welcome.

"I'd rely on him a lot," he said. "You'd be foolish not to tap into that expertise."

As for the Rockets as a team, Van Gundy said Yao Ming at center and Steve Francis at guard formed a solid foundation that made the job attractive.

"I was talking to somebody I really trust in basketball," Van Gundy said. "He said the biggest plus about Houston is every day Yao Ming wakes up, he's 7-5.

"Ain't that the truth."

Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.