Former Duke basketball guard finalizes deal to coach again
In early June, Quin Snyder stepped down as Utah Jazz head coach. Almost nine months later, the former four-year Duke basketball guard (1985-89) and assistant (1995-99) under now-retired Hall of Famer Mike Krzyzewski is set to return to the NBA as the 15th head coach in Atlanta Hawks history.
According to ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski, Snyder agreed to a five-year contract.
The 56-year-old, a 1985 McDonald's All-American from Seattle who was part of three Final Four Duke basketball teams while earning a double major in philosophy and political science, will now coach two former Blue Devils in the Hawks' regular rotation: recent one-and-done forwards Jalen Johnson and AJ Griffin.
In his eight seasons leading the Jazz, Quin Snyder coached only three former Blue Devils: Elliot Williams (five games in 2014-15), Rodney Hood (2014-18), and Grayson Allen (his 2018-19 rookie campaign).
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Although Snyder's Jazz teams never advanced to the Western Conference finals, he compiled a 372-264 regular-season record while guiding the franchise to six playoff appearances and becoming a 2021 All-Star head coach. Utah's 294-178 mark across his final six seasons marked the West's highest winning percentage in that stretch.
Quin Snyder, still the only former Duke basketball player to become an NBA head coach, now inherits an Atlanta Hawks squad sitting at No. 8 in the Eastern Conference standings with a 31-30 record.
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