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Nearly everyone in Utah Jazz head coach Will Hardy’s life is a Washington Commander’s fan. It makes sense, having grown up in Virginia, that Hardy would feel connected and be a fan of the team that is so close to home.
But his connection with the team that will play in the NFL’s NFC championship game Sunday, and its head coach, is a little closer than the average fan.
“I’ve actually gotten to know Dan Quinn over the last year,” Hardy said of the Commanders coach. “Spent time with them this summer, around him and their staff. He’s one of the coolest leaders I’ve been around in coaching. I’ve learned a lot from him. He’s very generous with me in terms of letting me bounce things off of him.
“So it’s cool to see what they’re building there. It’s been fun. My phone’s been blowing up with a lot of friends very excited about the team. So hopefully they keep it going.”
It’s kind of hard for Hardy to pinpoint what a “cool leader” is. But he’s mentioned in the past that he believes coaching is changing — that there used to be a hardness with coaching that is not necessary anymore, and there’s something about the way that Quinn commands a room that Hardy believes represents the future of coaching.
“He clearly has the respect of the room, but he does it in a way where he seems very approachable and to have very authentic relationships with his players and his staff.
“It’s not the authoritarian style of coaching that maybe we saw 20 years ago ... being lucky enough to be in a team film session and watch him address their entire group,” Hardy continued. “Obviously, football is so different than what we do in terms of the number of people that you’re addressing in the room, but you can tell that he leads with a real dynamic energy every day.
“He moves quick. He’s got a great tone with the group. He has the ability to raise the energy of the room.”
Hardy said that he’s been able to stay in contact with Quinn throughout the season and that Quinn has been really receptive to sharing ideas and talking through different things with Hardy.
Of course, in an ideal world, contemporary coaches within the same sport would be able to have those same kinds of conversations. And sometimes those things do happen. But there is a bit of a boundary, a point where coaches know they can’t share everything.
“I’ve found that sometimes when you do that within your own sport, there’s always a little bit of guarding,” Hardy said. “Because maybe one day you’d be competitors. I don’t think DQ and I will ever coach a game against each other. So it’s cool, because you can both just let the guard down totally and share very openly.”
Over the next couple of weeks, Hardy is likely to only offer support and he’ll be watching, supporting his friend and his favorite team in its efforts to reach the Super Bowl.
New with the Jazz
Quote of the week
“We have some individuals who, defensively, need to continue to up their level.” — Jazz head coach Will Hardy
From the archives
Extra points
- Stuck in New Orleans: Jazz reporter’s visit to the Big Easy was anything but — although it had a silver lining (Deseret News)
- Utah Jazz players visit Primary Children’s Hospital (Deseret News)
- SEG Foundation helps give people opportunity for a ‘clean slate’ (Deseret News)
Around the league
- NBA All-Star starters announced with LeBron and Giannis leading the way.
- Commissioner Adam Silver says the NBA is still exploring idea of a separate Euro League.
- Hornets’ Brandon Miller has season-ending wrist surgery.
Up next
- Jan. 25 | 6 p.m. MST | Utah Jazz @ Memphis Grizzlies | KJZZ
- Jan. 27 | 7 p.m. MST | Utah Jazz vs. Milwaukee Bucks | KJZZ
- Jan. 28 | 8 p.m. MST | Utah Jazz @ Golden State Warriors | KJZZ
- Jan. 30 | 7 p.m. MST | Utah Jazz vs. Minnesota Timberwolves | KJZZ