Terry Stotts and Adrian Griffin, among the candidates for the Utah bench

Quin Snyder’s goodbye to the Utah Jazz has been consummated and with it a new job opportunity has been opened for other coaches. As reported by Shams Charania of The AthleticJohnnie Bryant, Alex Jensen, Terry Stotts, Will Hardy and Adrian Griffin are on a list of candidates that those from Salt Lake City probably already had in their portfolio, since Snyder’s continuity in the organization had been in doubt for weeks.

It has been a jug of cold water, but Utah has to look ahead. On the one hand, we have the moral blow for the goodbye of a coach who has done really well, and that is that they have been a playoff team for six consecutive years. On the other hand, the fact that they must make important decisions and that finding the ideal technician is essential to continue giving life to the current project.

About the names that have emerged to replace Snyder, perhaps Terry Stotts stands out above the rest. The former Portland coach is by far the most experienced of those mentioned; he not in vain accumulates up to 13 seasons as head coach in the NBA. About his last stage, with the Blazers he was able to reach the Western Conference finals in 2019. Yes, we can say that his effectiveness is proven.

Of the rest of the applicants, there are two who are well known in the Mormon franchise. Johnnie Bryant, who since 2020 has been the associate head coach at the New York Knicks, spent the previous six years working as Snyder’s assistant in Utah. Also from that ‘continuist’ line is Alex Jensen, who has been an assistant coach at the Jazz since 2013.

Lastly, we meet Will Hardy, who has spent up to 10 seasons training at the San Antonio Spurs, where he has been an assistant to Gregg Popovich for the last four seasons; and Adrian Griffin, Nick Nurse’s current assistant in Toronto who has been dreaming for a long time to have an opportunity as head coach.

They are only the first options that have arisen. Barely hours have passed since Snyder’s farewell –which has not sat well with Donovan Mitchell–, and it is certain that other options will appear for the Jazz bench, an organization that has yet to figure out where they are going in the present.

(Photograph of Steph Chambers/Getty Images)