One of Utah's most impressive and longest-lasting eras has officially ended.
On Sunday afternoon, former head coach Quin Snyder announced his resignation from the Jazz — a move that came with no bad blood and insurmountable respect rarely seen in situations similar to this.
Less than 24 hours after the news was announced, Snyder, alongside Jazz owner Ryan Smith and CEO Danny Ainge, met with the media on Monday morning for a final press conference.
"It's something I labored over and you never have complete clarity on something like this," Snyder said. "Saturday night after thinking about it for a significant period of time, over the course of weeks, felt like it was time. There's a real sense of loss, and some sorrow and sadness. … I think that's to be expected given everything that took place here and I feel like I tried to give."
It was exactly eight years ago Monday when Snyder was hired to replace Tyrone Corbin, the man who replaced legendary coach Jerry Sloan.
Throughout those eight years at the helm, Snyder took a Utah Jazz team that won just 25 games the year before to a team that has reached the postseason the past six seasons. First establishing Utah as a dominant defensive team, Snyder elevated the Jazz to one of the top offenses in the league over the past few seasons — a feat that doesn't deserve enough credit.
"He's a coach that had one of the best defensive teams in the league and then transformed into one of the best offenses in the league. … That's very rare," Ainge said. "To be able to coach different styles of teams and have so much success on both sides of the ball, I think that's an impressive footprint."
Snyder went 372-264 with the Jazz, amassing a .585 winning percentage — the second-winningest coach in Utah history behind Sloan.
Among the highlights was Snyder finishing as the runner-up in NBA Coach of the Year voting during the 2017-18 season. He was also named the Western Conference Coach of the month four times throughout his career.
His best season was during the Covid-shortened year of 2020-21, leading the Jazz to the top seed in the Western Conference playoffs after a 52-20 record, the best in the NBA. He served as the head coach of Team LeBron during the 2021 NBA All-Star game.
Snyder also reflected on Utah's Game 7 victory over the Los Angeles Clippers in the opening round of the 2012 postseason as one of his major highlights — the first time the Jazz had returned to the playoffs since 2012.
"Quin Snyder has embodied what Jazz basketball is for the last eight years," Smith said. "The tireless work ethic and attention to detail Quin displayed each day is a testament to the professional he is. I have nothing but admiration for Quin and respect his decision. On behalf of Ashley and I, along with our ownership group and our entire organization, we thank Quin and Amy from the bottom of our hearts for all of their contributions to the state of Utah and the Jazz and wish them nothing but the best."
While both Ainge and Smith believe that Snyder will be coaching in the NBA shortly, Snyder was noncommittal about his immediate future.
Over the past few weeks, the decision-making process took such a toll on him that he had yet to even consider what his next step may be. The only thing set in stone for him is that he'll be spending Halloween with his kids.
"I don't know what I'm going to do next year, as far as coaching," he said. "I know I'm going to be at Halloween with my daughter. … That's the silver lining of me stepping down now."