The Atlanta Hawks Have A Big Decision To Make On Their Head Coach This Summer

With head coach Quin Snyder entering the presumptive last year of his contract, should the Hawks extend him this summer?

Feb 5, 2026; Atlanta, Georgia, USA; Atlanta Hawks head coach Quin Snyder on the sideline against the Utah Jazz in the fourth quarter at State Farm Arena. Mandatory Credit: Brett Davis-Imagn Images | Brett Davis-Imagn Images

When the Hawks fired former head coach Nate McMillan in the middle of the 2022-2023 season, they did so with the idea that they'd be able to find a coach who could make them a consistent playoff threat and build a team around Trae Young. They selected Quin Snyder in large part due to his success building around Donovan Mitchell with the Utah Jazz, another small guard who had comparable scoring gravity to Young at the time. In particular, Snyder turned Rudy Gobert into a DPOY contender and empowered Mitchell to be a quality first option. That duo, coupled with good supporting players like Mike Conley and Royce O'Neale, turned the Jazz into a regular-season machine that unfortunately fell short in the playoffs.

However, Snyder hasn't even been able to make the Hawks a consistent playoff team during the three seasons he's already coached in Atlanta. They made the first round during his first season with the team, losing to the Boston Celtics in six games, but they missed the playoffs in back-to-back years before this season. Making the playoffs in 2025-26 is hardly a guarantee. As things currently stand, the Hawks are 10th in the Eastern Conference and four games under .500.

Therefore, it's a real question as to whether the Hawks should keep Snyder around for the long haul. His contract runs through the 2026-27 season and it doesn't really make sense for him to go into the season without a new contract. Therefore, it behooves both the Hawks and Snyder to come to an agreement this summer - or decide to go their seperate ways.

Hiring someone new shouldn't be an issue either. Jalen Johnson is an All-NBA level player who has an extremely rare skillset as a forward who can dribble, pass and shoot. He's flanked by good complementary players in Nickeil Alexander-Walker, Dyson Daniels and Onyeka Okongwu. Furthermore, Atlanta is going to likely have a lottery pick and ample amounts of salary flexibility to work with. If the Hawks do move on from Snyder, it wouldn't be surprising if the Hawks' head coaching position is actually one of the more attractive options around the league.

The Argument For Keeping Quin Snyder

Jan 19, 2026; Atlanta, Georgia, USA; Atlanta Hawks head coach Quin Snyder high-fives Atlanta Hawks guard CJ McCollum (3) during a timeout against the Milwaukee Bucks during the fourth quarter at State Farm Arena. Mandatory Credit: Jordan Godfree-Imagn Images | Jordan Godfree-Imagn Images

Zaccharie Risacher's development hasn't quite gone to plan, but Snyder has actually done a good job of getting the most out of several other players on the roster. He's been a big factor in empowering Jalen Johnson to become a bigger part of the team's offense, while Nickeil Alexander-Walker has turned into a solid starter after just being a rotation piece in Minnesota. Dyson Daniels is having a down shooting season, but Daniels has taken legitimate strides since his days as a role player in New Orleans. Despite only hitting 13.3% from deep this season, he's posted a career-high AST% of 24.7% and turned himself into one of the better perimeter defenders in the NBA.

This season has also been good for the growth of Onyeka Okongwu. Okongwu hasn't quite turned into the center Atlanta expected when they took him with a top-10 pick, but he's a starting center on a great contract who can offer spacing. After never shooting above 33% from deep in his career, he's hitting 37.9% of his 5.4 three point attempts a game.

Snyder's also done a great job of leaning into the advantages of his roster in transition. The Hawks have the NBA's most productive transition offense in terms of points per 100 possessions and they're a top-five team in transition frequency. Transition offense isn't as sustainable as half-court production and teams that rely exclusively on it usually struggle to maintain success. However, it can be a edge in the regular season and it speaks to Snyder's coaching that the Hawks are so effective in situations where the other team turns it over.

The Argument Against Keeping Quin Snyder

Feb 3, 2026; Miami, Florida, USA; Atlanta Hawks head coach Quin Snyder reacts against the Miami Heat during the second half at Kaseya Center. Mandatory Credit: Rhona Wise-Imagn Images | Rhona Wise-Imagn Images

Even though there are a lot of positives Snyder has brought to the Hawks, there are also several compelling reasons to think the Hawks could benefit from a change at the head spot on their coaching staff. The most compelling one is the stagnation of Atlanta's defense.

When Snyder was in Utah, the Jazz ranked towards the top of the NBA in defense more often than not. They finished as a top-10 defense six times out of the eight seasons Snyder was at the helm. Part of that was the presence of Rudy Gobert, but the Hawks undoubtedly hired Snyder because they thought he could build a competent defense around Trae Young. He was never able to do that and his attempts to build around Johnson haven't fared much better on the defensive end. Despite having two pretty solid perimeter defenders in Nickeil Alexander-Walker and Daniels, the Hawks have been consistently poor at closing out on shooters on the perimeter. They've been better this year (11th-best 3P% allowed in 2025-26), but this comes after two straight seasons of being second-to-last in 3P% allowed. They also have yet to break past 16th in points allowed per 100 possessions.

Their lack of true progress on defense is part of the reason why the Hawks have failed to be a serious playoff team. They were able to take two games off the Celtics and avoided a sweep by the Heat, but they were thoroughly outmatched in both series. The injuries they've experienced certainly play a role and it shouldn't be entirely dismissed as a reason why Atlanta has underachieved in the Snyder era. However, barring a encouraging run this season, the Hawks cannot keep a coach who's failed to take them past the first round in four tries.

Snyder's rotation decisions are also linked to the team's struggles during the regular season and postseason. He hasn't been able to empower Zaccharie Risacher or find a way to maximize the strengths that he does have. His decision to use the trio of Vit Krejci, Luke Kennard and Keaton Wallace despite it being statistically one of the worst three-man lineups in the NBA made zero sense. That grouping got 109 minutes on the season, had a -19.5 net rating and swung games in the negative for the Hawks. Mo Gueye also struggled to find any sort of consistent minutes under Snyder despite showing flashes in limited showings.

Final Thoughts

Jan 9, 2026; Denver, Colorado, USA; Atlanta Hawks head coach Quin Snyder reacts in the second quarter against the Denver Nuggets at Ball Arena. Mandatory Credit: Ron Chenoy-Imagn Images | Ron Chenoy-Imagn Images

Based on his track record and the Hawks' play this season, this summer is the perfect time for the Hawks to make a clean break and hire a new coach to lead their team.

Multiple teams like the Phoenix Suns, Boston Celtics and Oklahoma City Thunder have seen a revitalization when taking chances on a relatively unknown coach. The Hawks should do the same and hire a newcomer with fresh ideas for building a team around Jalen Johnson. They have a very young team and will likely add a lottery pick to their lineup. Therefore, it would make sense for the Hawks to hire a new leader that can grow with the new direction of the team.

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