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, five National League pennants (a
record that still stands), 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 one more time in 2010 before retiring. Cox’s 2504 wins rank first in Braves
history and fourth most in MLB history. 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 after 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 such a 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 number three spot, 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 saw its former head coach quit unexpectedly. Moreover, at that point,
the Falcons had never had back-to-back winning seasons. 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 just one of three head coaches to finish their tenure in Atlanta with a
winning record. - Mike Budenholzer, Atlanta Hawks (2013-2018)
After spending almost 20 years in San Antonio as an assistant to legendary head coach
Greg 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 number one 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, 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, which made 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) under Wilkens, who also
oversaw three 50-win seasons. Since Wilkens’ departure in 2000, the Hawks have had
just two 50-win campaigns. His 310 wins in Atlanta rank third all-time in Hawks
