Miami Heat assistant coach Chris Quinn speaks with head coach Erik Spoelstra during the second half of an NBA game against the Washington Wizards at Kaseya Center on March 3, 2025, in Miami. D.A. Varela dvarela@miamiherald.com
The Miami Heat’s longest-tenured assistant on head coach Erik Spoelstra’s staff was again a top candidate for an outside job, but it appears he’s staying with the Heat for now.
With the Heat confirming to the Miami Herald that it granted the Phoenix Suns permission to interview longtime Heat assistant coach Chris Quinn for the franchise’s head coaching job, NBA reporter Marc Stein reported over the weekend that Quinn was among the candidates who advanced to the next stage of the interview process for the opening.
But ESPN’s Shams Charania reported Monday that the Suns have narrowed their head coaching search to two finalists — Cleveland Cavaliers associate head coach Johnnie Bryant and Cavaliers assistant coach Jordan Ott. The Suns are searching for a replacement for Mike Budenholzer.
Quinn, 41, just finished his 11th season with the Heat after being promoted to associate head coach last offseason. Along with being the longest-tenured assistant on Spoelstra’s coaching staff, Quinn has played a major role in the Heat’s highly regarded player development program.
Quinn also played for the Heat, as the six-year NBA guard was signed by Miami as a free agent during the 2006 offseason. He appeared in 168 games (26 starts) with the Heat from 2006 to to 2010, playing for both Pat Riley and Spoelstra.
Of Quinn’s promotion last offseason, Spoelstra said last year: “It was really a formality. He’s been the associate head coach now for three or four years. So it’s just a formality of giving him the official title.”
Quinn even served as the Heat’s acting head coach for three games that Spoelstra was not available for during the 2021-22 season. Quinn went 2-1 during those games.
“He’s more than an associate head coach,” Spoelstra said of Quinn last year. “He has stepped in to be the head coach when I’ve missed games. I think he’s worthy of being a head coach right now in this league. Sometimes it’s just a matter of opportunity, and he’s been close with some of these jobs. He will get that opportunity. But in the meantime, he’s a big time value-add to this organization.
“He understands what our culture is about, he understands how to relate to the guys in our locker room. He knows how to relate to me and he does a great job of communicating things in a slightly different way. But he’s a great teacher, great communicator and a Miami Heat guy.”
The Heat has regularly granted permission to its coaches to interview for outside jobs through the years, doing so for Juwan Howard on his way to becoming the University of Michigan’s head coach in 2019 and for Dan Craig to become a Los Angeles Clippers assistant coach in 2020.
Quinn has interviewed for other head coaching jobs in the past. Just last offseason, Quinn was among the candidates for the Charlotte Hornets coaching opening that went to former Boston Celtics assistant coach Charles Lee and also was among the candidates for the Los Angeles Lakers coaching vacancy that was filled by JJ Redick.
“It is a goal ultimately to lead my own team,” Quinn said before the start of last season. “But also my job now is to be the best assistant coach I can be, and that’s where my focus is. I’m trying to be the best coach I can be for Spo and for our players ultimately. That will come when it comes. More than anything, I’ve been able to grow a lot as an individual coach because of all those processes I’ve been through. Hopefully I can use that to help us here.”
Even with the Suns reportedly passing on Quinn, a reshuffling of the Heat’s coaching staff is still possible.
This past season, Spoelstra’s coaching staff included Quinn and assistants Malik Allen, Caron Butler, Octavio De La Grana, Eric Glass and Wayne Ellington. The player development coaches were Rob Fodor, Kasib Powell and Remy Ndiaye.
But there has already been at least one change to the Heat’s coaching staff this offseason, with Powell departing to become an assistant coach with the WNBA’s Golden State Valkyries.
In addition, Eurohoops reported Monday the Heat has expressed interest in adding Sergio Scariolo to its coaching staff. Scariolo, who began his coaching career in his home country of Italy, is currently the head coach of Spain’s national team and served as an assistant coach with the Toronto Raptors for three seasons from 2018 to 2021.
But a source close to the Heat denied that report, stating that Scariolo is not a candidate for a Heat coaching position.
The Heat finished this past regular season with a losing record at 37-45 for the first time since the 2018-19 season and just the sixth time in Riley’s 30 seasons with the organization. The Heat has also been eliminated in the first round of the playoffs in each of the last two seasons.