Quin Snyder, Jazz Agree to New Contract: Latest Details, Comments, Reaction

The Utah Jazz and head coach Quin Snyder have agreed to a long-term contract extension less than two years after he was first appointed to lead the franchise, the team announced Friday. 

According to the Deseret News' Jody Genessy, Snyder's new deal runs through the 2020-21 season. Financial terms were not immediately disclosed. 

"With this contract extension, we are declaring our confidence in Coach Snyder’s ability to continue to develop the Utah Jazz into a championship team," Gail Miller, owner of the Larry H. Miller Group of Companies, said. "The Miller family recognizes the significant progress made under his leadership and we are excited about the direction we are headed."

The Jazz missed the playoffs during each of Snyder's first two seasons on the bench, but they posted a 13-win improvement year-over-year (38-44) during the 2014-15 season before going 40-42 this past year.   

"We have continued to take significant steps as a team under Quin’s direction," Jazz General Manager Dennis Lindsey said, per the team's release. "His work ethic, basketball intelligence and ability to connect with and develop our players make him the ideal head coach of the Jazz."

While Utah is in the midst of a four-year postseason drought, Snyder has developed the Jazz into one of the NBA's most promising up-and-coming squads, as NBC Sports' Kurt Helin noted: 

After posting the NBA's top defensive rating (94.8) over the second half of the 2014-15 season, the Jazz stymied opponents to the tune of 101.6 points per 100 possessions throughout the entire 2015-16 campaign. The only Western Conference clubs with superior efficiency ratings during that span were the San Antonio Spurs, Los Angeles Clippers and Golden State Warriors. 

Anchored by center Rudy Gobert—whom opponents shot 11.7 percent worse than the league average against inside of six feet—Utah's defense bothered opponents with tremendous length and the ability to seamlessly switch on coverages across the board.  

However, defense isn't the only area where the Jazz have grown under Snyder's tutelage. 

The Jazz posted an offensive rating of 100.6 during Tyrone Corbin's final season in Salt Lake City, and that mark immediately improved to 102.5 during Snyder's first year on the job. This past season, Utah pushed its efficiency rating to 103.1, with Gobert, Gordon Hayward, Rodney Hood and Derrick Favors leading the charge. 

Hood's performance, in particular, was somewhat of a revelation. 

Although Hayward and Favors rightfully grabbed headlines as they stuffed stat sheets night after night, Hood made a second-year leap after averaging 8.7 points per game during his rookie season. Thrust into a starting role, Hood kicked his scoring average up to 14.5 points while knocking down 35.9 percent of his threes. 

More than anything, Hood's evolution in Year 2 served as a microcosm of what the Jazz have become renowned for during Snyder's two-year stint in Utah. Not only is the team heavily invested in player development, but the front office has demonstrated a commitment to growing things organically. 

And with Snyder at the helm long-term, the Jazz should continue to embrace that approach as they seek to break through the Western Conference clutter and earn a spot in the postseason for the first time since 2012. 

Stats courtesy of Basketball-Reference.com and NBA.com.