Where Are The Seven Head Coches of the Nets? Sean Marks was named general manager.
The Brooklyn Nets have had seven head coaches since former NBA veteran Sean Marks took over as general manager in 2016. Right now, where are they?
Sean Marks, a former assistant coach for the San Antonio Spurs, was named general manager of the Brooklyn Nets on February 18, 2016. That occurred just one month after 48-71 performance led to the dismissal of former Nets head coach Lionel Hollins from his position.
By the time Marks became the team’s general manager, Tony Brown had already taken over as head coach of Brooklyn. Prior to Marks opting to go a different route for the head coaching position, Brown struggled in 45 games, going 11-34. After that, Brown joined the Washington Wizards as an assistant coach, rising to the position of associate head coach in 2019. During his three seasons there, he would assist Washington in making the playoffs. Brown
The next head coach after Brown for the Nets was Kenny Atkinson, a coach who is known for his player development skills, especially on the Atlanta Hawks. Atkinson would go on to win 118 games, but losing 190. However, he is remembered in Brooklyn as the coach who brought back the grit, tenacity and blue-collar mentality that this borough and city embodies. Minutes were hard to come by for any player regardless of previous feats. This rotational system gave some extra motivation for all the players on the Nets, knowing that on any given night, whoever was playing the best was going to get the most minutes, especially in the fourth quarter
Atkinson encouraged D’Angelo Russell enough to help him become a first-time All-Star. Spencer Dinwiddie became a borderline All-Star with Atkinson as the head coach. This was the culture that lured in players like Kevin Durant in free agency if we disregard Kyrie Irving’s influence on his decision. Exceeding expectations is an understatement to describe Atkinson’s tenure with the Nets as head coach before Marks decided it was time for a change in 2020. His impact helped Brooklyn make the playoffs in the 2018-19 season as an underdog playing the Philadelphia 76ers team with Jimmy Butler in the first round. It was not surprising that the Nets lost that series in five. Today, Atkinson is an assistant coach on the Golden State Warriors after joining that front office in 2021. He notably helped lead the franchise to a championship in 2022.
When Atkinson was relieved of his head coaching duties in 2020, assistant coach Jacque Vaughn became the interim head coach for 10 games with the Nets undermanned until Marks hired his long-time buddy Steve Nash during the offseason, which was one of the most controversial head coaching hirings ever for an NBA team. Nevertheless, one of the best point guards this game has ever seen managed to go 94-67 overall and 7-9 in the postseason. Nash’s best chance at bringing the Nets the glory they have been coveting for years notably came in the 2021 Eastern Conference Semifinals. If it weren’t for injuries to Spencer Dinwiddie, Kyrie Irving and James Harden the Brooklyn Nets could have put up a better fight versus the 2021 NBA champions in a series that went to seven games.
Following a horrifying start to the 2022-23 campaign, Nash was relieved of his head coaching duties. The Canadian has since then taking a break from coaching and was even seen attending a Phoenix Suns game this season.
Vaughn would once again takeover the interim head coaching role before becoming Nets GM Marks’ first choice to be the long term head coach moving forward. Vaughn was descent in his second stint, going 64-65, and making the playoffs once in the 2022-23 season just to get swept by the Philadelphia 76ers. It was because of a not-so-impressive 2023-24 campaign that pressured Marks to relieve Vaughn from his head coaching duties and former Nets assistant coach Kevin Ollie became the interim head coach to finish off a disappointing 2023-24 season for Brooklyn. As for Vaughn, he has not made a decision yet on what he will do next in his coaching career.
