The Utah Jazz named Quin Snyder as head coach. The former Missouri Tigers basketball coach is the eighth head coach in Jazz history and the fifth since the franchise’s relocation to Utah in 1979. Snyder has been trying to rebound after his career and personal life derailed which led to Snyder leaving Missouri. Now, after paying his dues, he deserves a second chance at a high profile coaching job.
As I was recovering from a Friday surgery, I wasn’t sure if the pain medicine I was on was causing me to hallucinate or what…When I felt better, and had my wits about me…I realized the story was true…Quin is a head coach again.
From 2007-10, Snyder served as head coach of the Austin Toros of the NBA Development League (the D-League affiliate of the San Antonio Spurs), where he recorded a 94-56 (.627) mark, while leading the club to playoff appearances in all three seasons and advancing to at least the D-League Semifinals each year. In his first season with the Toros, Snyder inherited a team that had finished the prior season 21-29, and led them to a 30-20 record, a Southwest Division title and an appearance in the 2008 D-League Finals. He followed that with consecutive 32-18 campaigns and first-round playoff wins, earning the D-League’s 2009 Dennis Johnson Coach of the Year honors and a selection as head coach of the 2009 D-League All-Star Game in Phoenix. During his three-year tenure in Austin, Snyder compiled more wins and guided more players to the NBA than any other coach in the D-League.
His first head coaching position came at the University of Missouri, where in seven seasons (1999-2006), he led the Tigers to a 128-96 (.571) record and four NCAA Tournaments, including an Elite Eight appearance in 2002.
