This past Wednesday, longtime Atlanta Braves manager Brian Snitker announced his retirement from
baseball after nearly five decades with the organization. The end of his managerial tenure also marks the
end of one of the most successful head coaching/managerial stints in Atlanta sports history. Snitker
received a significant deal of criticism from many Atlanta fans due to the team’s lack of postseason
success outside of their World Series run in 2021. However, it is worth noting that the Atlanta Hawks have
never advanced to the NBA Finals, while the Atlanta Falcons have never won a Super Bowl. That being
said, where exactly does Snitker rank all-time concerning the many head coaches/managers that have
come through this city?
- Bobby Cox, Atlanta Braves (1978-1981, 1990-2010)
This is an easy one. Cox’s initial tenure with the Braves went poorly, as he finished with a
266-323 win-loss record. After being fired by the Braves, he managed the Toronto Blue Jays to
their first-ever playoff appearance before returning to Atlanta in 1986 to serve as the team’s
general manager. During the 1990 season, with the team once again in last place in the National
League, he assumed managerial duties. Under Cox, the Braves won 14 consecutive division titles
from 1991 to 2005 (an MLB record that still stands), five National League pennants, and one
World Series championship in 1995, the first-ever professional sports championship for the city of
Atlanta. He would lead the Braves to the postseason once more in 2010, his final year as
manager. Cox’s 2,149 wins rank first in Braves history, and he was unanimously inducted into the
Major League Baseball Hall of Fame in 2014. Cox’s record undoubtedly cements him as the best
coach/manager in Atlanta sports history. - Brian Snitker, Atlanta Braves (2016-2025)
Snitker’s journey to becoming an MLB manager is a unique one. He initially joined the Braves
organization as a catcher in the team’s minor league system in 1977, before serving in numerous
roles throughout the organization, including as Atlanta’s third-base coach from 2007 to 2013.
After managing the Triple-A affiliate Gwinnett Stripers for three years, Snitker was named interim
manager in May 2016. The general belief was that Snitker would not serve as Atlanta’s manager
for long and would be replaced, until several of Atlanta’s veteran players, including Nick Markakis
and Freddie Freeman, strongly endorsed him for the full-time role. After former general manager
John Copollela was banned from baseball due to several international free agent signing
violations in 2017, Snitker led a young Braves team to its first division title in five years in 2018.
Accordingly, first-year general manager Alex Anthopoulos rewarded him with an extension. It was
a long and unlikely road to the top for an individual who had waited 40 years for the prestigious
opportunity. Fast-forward nine years, and Snitker departs the Braves with 811 wins (third-most in
team history), six division titles, and a World Series championship in 2021. He and his mentor,
Cox, are the only two individuals to oversee a championship team in the city of Atlanta. - Tie: Dan Reeves, Atlanta Falcons (1997-2003) and Mike Smith, Atlanta Falcons (2008-2014)
Reeves and Smith are tied for the third spot on this list, as both came to Atlanta and immediately
ushered in unprecedented success to a Falcons franchise that has seen very little of it. In 1997,
Reeves took over a Falcons team that had never appeared in an NFC Championship. He led the
Falcons to what is still a franchise-best 14-2 record in 1998, en route to the franchise’s first-ever
Super Bowl appearance on the back of running back Jamal Anderson and a strong defense. The
Falcons would qualify for the postseason one more time under Reeves in 2002.
Likewise, in 2008, Mike Smith arrived at a time when the team had lost its franchise quarterback
and its former head coach quit unexpectedly. Moreover, at that point, the Falcons had yet to have
back-to-back winning seasons at any point since their inception as an NFL franchise in 1966.
Immediately, Smith, former general manager Thomas Dimitroff, and quarterback Matt Ryan
ushered in the most successful era in franchise history. From 2008 to 2012, the Falcons had five
consecutive winning seasons, including two NFC South division titles and an appearance in the
NFC Championship game in 2012. Despite winning just one playoff game in his seven years as
head coach, Smith’s 66-46 record cements him as the winningest head coach in Falcons history
and one of three head coaches to finish their Falcons tenure with a winning record. - Mike Budenholzer, Atlanta Hawks (2013-2018)
After spending almost two decades in San Antonio as an assistant to legendary head coach
Gregg Popovich, Budenholzer arrived in Atlanta in 2013 to coach a team that had qualified for the
NBA Playoffs for six consecutive years but had yet to advance past the second round. During the
2014-15 season, the Hawks won a single-season franchise record 60 games, secured the top
seed in the Eastern Conference, and advanced to the Eastern Conference Finals for the first time
since the franchise arrived in Atlanta (1968). The Hawks also sent four starters to the All-Star
Game and went undefeated in January (17-0). Notably, they accomplished all of this without a
true superstar on their team, relying on great ball movement offensively and strong team defense,
resulting in many fans dubbing them the “San Antonio Spurs of the East.” Unfortunately, Atlanta
was swept in the conference finals by LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers. While they
qualified for the playoffs twice more under Budenholzer in 2016 and 2017, they were unable to
reach the heights of their 60-win campaign. - Lenny Wilkens, Atlanta Hawks (1993-2000)
Years before Budenholzer’s arrival, Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame player and coach Lenny
Wilkens was the first head coach to lead the Atlanta Hawks to a number one seed in the Eastern
Conference in 1994. The following year, he secured his 939th career win as a head coach,
making him the winningest head coach in NBA history at the time. He also became the first coach
in NBA history to reach 1,000 career wins. Despite constant roster turnover and competing in a
very tough Eastern Conference, the Hawks qualified for the postseason for six consecutive years
(1994-1999) and had three 50-win seasons under Wilkens. Since Wilkens’ departure in 2000, the
Hawks have had just two 50-win campaigns. His 310 wins rank third all-time in Hawks history.
