ATLANTA — The Atlanta Hawks have found their next head coach -- a familiar face the franchise is welcoming back.
11Alive's Maria Martin confirmed Sunday evening the team is hiring Quin Snyder to a 5-year deal to become the team's new coach and will arrive in Atlanta tonight. He is expected to make his debut on Tuesday, according to ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski.
The contract will begin this season, meaning Snyder will have four years remaining on his deal at season's end.
The Hawks officially announced the hire Sunday night, welcoming Snyder to the A. He becomes the 15th full-time head coach in franchise history. The terms of the deal were not released.
The Hawks welcome back Snyder after he previously spent one season as the team's head assistant coach during the 2013-2014 campaign under then-head coach Mike Budenholzer.
"I am thrilled to go back to Atlanta as the next head coach of the Hawks. [General Manager Landry Fields] has a tremendous reputation as an incredibly bright, high character, high quality individual and it was quickly evident that we share a passion and commitment to building a winning team with a strong foundation and high standards," Snyder said. "I am excited to collaborate with Landry to create a successful program that devoted Hawks fans are proud of and cheer for and am grateful to Tony, Jami and the Ressler family for this opportunity. My family and I are looking forward to immersing ourselves in the community and calling Atlanta home.”
Snyder was then hired in June 2014 by the Utah Jazz and proceeded to spend the next eight seasons at the helm, guiding the Jazz to six straight trips to the Western Conference playoffs, although they were never able to make it out of the second round.
There, he compiled a 294-178 record, coached the 2021 Western Conference All-Star team after finishing the first half of that season with a 23-5 record, and went on to lock up the No. 1 seed that season with a 52-20 record -- the best in the NBA. He wound up with the second-most wins in Jazz franchise history.
Snyder finished in the top three in NBA Coach of the Year voting twice while in Utah, while he won four Western Conference Coach of the Month recognitions.
“From our first conversation, it was clear that Quin had all the characteristics we were looking for in our next head coach. He has both an incredible basketball and emotional IQ, and we share the same core values and basketball philosophies of having honest communication and collaboration with players, tremendous attention to detail and placing a great emphasis on player development,” General Manager Landry Fields said. “We are excited to welcome him, his wife Amy and their family back to Atlanta.”
Snyder was quickly pursued by the Hawks in the days after the team fired ex-head coach Nate McMillan, according to reports.
He will take over for a team that is 31-30 and the current eight seed in the Eastern Conference. Snyder will look to lead the Hawks back to prominence, just two seasons removed from a trip to the Eastern Conference Finals.
Interim head coach Joe Prunty served in that specified role for two games following McMillan's firing, going 2-0.