Miami Marlins Manager Skip Schumaker Likens Heat’s Erik Spoelstra To Best Coaches Of All-Time

Marlins manager Skip Schumaker calls Miami Heat's Erik Spoelstra “one of the best coaches in all sports.”

Miami Heat culture appears contagious among South Florida sports teams. Just ask Miami Marlins manager Skip Schumaker, who holds Heat coach Erik Spoelstra in high regard among coaches across the four major sports.

“I’ve studied him for multiple years,” Schumaker said at LoanDeport Park after the Marlins’ Thursday afternoon win. “I’ve read all The Athletic’s articles about him, there’s one that just came out. I’ve watched every speech of his last four or five years. I think he’s one of the best in all of sports.”

Spoelstra is recognized as one of the best coaches in NBA history. Although he’s never won a Coach of the Year Award, he led the Heat to five NBA Finals, winning consecutive championships in 2012 and 2013. Miami only has two losing seasons under Spoelstra (2015 and 2019), making the playoffs all but three seasons. Even for his past success, Spoelstra is gaining a new level of respect for the Heat’s current postseason run.

As much credit as we give Jimmy Butler, Spoelstra is commended for his job as well. The Heat were on the brink of elimination against the Chicago Bulls but are now three wins away from going to their sixth Finals under Spoelstra. They are doing so with a rotation of undrafted players and the absence of shooting guards Tyler Herro and Victor Oladipo. If the Heat somehow win the Finals, it will go down as arguably the most impressive championship run in league history.

As Schumaker said, “I research all the best and he’s the best.”

Jayden Armant is a contributor to Inside the Heat. He is a student at Howard University. He can be reached at jayden.armant@bison.howard.edu or follow him on Twitter @jaydenarmant.