Atlanta Hawks name former Utah Jazz coach Quin Snyder as head coach

The Atlanta Hawks brought back a familiar face for their playoff campaign.

The Hawks have hired former Utah Jazz coach Quin Snyder as the franchise’s 15th full-time head coach, the team announced Sunday. Joe Prunty has served as Atlanta’s interim coach since the Hawks fired Nate McMillan on Tuesday with 23 games remaining in the regular season.

The Hawks were aggressive in their search and wanted to act quickly. They wanted to beat other teams who will likely wait until the end of the season to fire a coach so they can take their chances against the best coaches available.

YOUNG TRAE: Hawks star has ‘nothing but love and respect’ for McMillan after firing

With Snyder, who led the Jazz to the playoffs for six straight seasons, compiling a 372-264 record in eight years, they seemed to have found their man.

“From our first conversation, it was clear that Quin possessed all of the characteristics we were looking for in our next head coach,” general manager Landry Fields said in the announcement. “He has both an incredible basketball and emotional IQ, and we share the same core basketball values ​​and philosophies of honest communication and collaboration with players, great attention to detail and great importance given to player development.

“We are thrilled to welcome him, his wife Amy and their family to Atlanta.”

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Snyder was an Atlanta assistant during the 2013-14 season on head coach Mike Budenholzer’s staff. The Hawks believe firing McMillan and naming Snyder as coach can get the team back into the playoff race.

“I am excited to return to Atlanta as the next head coach of the Hawks,” Snyder said. “I am excited to partner with Landry to create a successful program that dedicated Hawks fans are proud of and cheer for.”

With their 129-127 win over the Brooklyn Nets on Sunday, the Hawks improved to 31-30 and sit in eighth place in the Eastern Conference standings with 21 games remaining on their schedule.

Snyder served as head coach of the Utah Jazz from the 2014-15 to 2021-22 seasons. Over their last six seasons (2016-17 through 2021-22), the Jazz have compiled a record of 294-178, the third-highest winning percentage (.623) in the NBA and best in the Western Conference over this period.

In 2021, Snyder coached the Western Conference All-Star team and his Jazz finished the 2020-21 regular season with the best record in the NBA (52-20; .722) and the fifth-highest winning percentage in a only season at Jazz. history. His 372 wins are second in Jazz franchise history, behind Hall of Famer Jerry Sloan.

Contributor: Jeff Zillgitt

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Atlanta Hawks hire Quin Snyder as new head coach