Former Duke basketball player and coach steps down from position
A former Duke basketball player and coach has stepped down from his current position.
The NBA offseason is arguably more exciting than the regular season and one former Duke basketball player and coach kicked off the shocking news cycle as Quin Snyder stepped down as the head coach of the Utah Jazz.
Rumors had been swirling about Snyder being out as the head coach in Utah throughout the regular season and the noise became louder in the postseason as the Jazz were bounced in the first round by the Dallas Mavericks.
ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski was the first to report the news on Sunday afternoon.
Quin Snyder was a player in Durham from 1985-1989 and then joined Mike Krzyzewski’s coaching staff in 1995 and remained with the Blue Devils until 1999 before becoming the head coach of the Missouri Tigers.
Snyder led the Tigers to the NCAA Tournament in each of his first four seasons before resigning midway through the 2005-06 season.
ALSO READ: Duke makes another addition to its roster
The Mercer Island, Washington native then became the head coach of the Austin Toros, the G-League affiliate of the San Antonio Spurs from 2007-10 before bouncing around as an assistant coach between the NBA and CSKA Moscow.
However, Snyder landed his first NBA head coaching job in 2014 with the Utah Jazz and after missing the postseason in his first two years with the franchise he made the playoffs in each of the last six seasons but never made it passed the Western Conference Semifinals.
Quin Snyder was 372-264 as a head coach with the Jazz.
Unknown future for former Duke basketball player and coach
The decision leaves an uncertain future for Quin Snyder, who will take at least a year off from coaching and potentially spend the season covering the NBA on television.
ALSO READ: Duke non-conference schedule becoming more clear
There had been rumors that Snyder could be an option for replacing Mike Krzyzewski whenever he announced his retirement but that is no longer an option with Jon Scheyer already in place as the head coach of the Blue Devils and his coaching staff complete.
Utah will begin a search for a new head coach immediately as the franchise ponders its next steps.