ORLANDO, Fla. — Sean Sweeney landed interviews for more than a few NBA head coaching vacancies over the last few years, and many of them seemed the same.
Talking to Orlando, he said, was different.
Sweeney was introduced Thursday as the new coach of the Magic, which was the obvious proof that he won them over by his answers during the interview process. Turns out, the Magic won him over with their questions as well.
“The Magic were the most thorough and they did the best job of asking questions and asking follow-ups to get to layers underneath the first answer,” Sweeney said. “Some interviews that I’ve had in the past, I did not get that same level of detail. And given how I am and how I want to coach, that stood out.”
Sweeney and the Magic struck their deal for him to take over about three weeks ago; the formal welcome-to-Orlando event was put off until now because Sweeney has been a bit busy in his role as associate head coach of the San Antonio Spurs and their trip to the NBA Finals.
He stayed locked in on his tasks with the Spurs, even though the interview process started early in their postseason run. But with the finals over, Sweeney wasted little time in getting to Orlando and starting on the new job.
“When we finally did get in front of him, it was a long day and he had a lot going on,” Magic President Jeff Weltman said. “It was during the playoffs and not only was he able to kind of compartmentalize his work with the Spurs and present well to us, but he really knocked our socks off. In Sean Sweeney, we have somebody who, in our minds, has the potential to be one of the elite coaches in this league.”
Sweeney said he fully believes this is the best situation for him.
Some first-time head coaches have to deal with a total rebuild; that’s not the case in Orlando, where a young core led by Paolo Banchero and Franz Wagner has made three consecutive playoff appearances — but three consecutive first-round exits essentially convinced the Magic that it was time for a change. Jamahl Mosley, now the coach in New Orleans, was let go after a successful five-year run and Sweeney was targeted as the replacement.
“I was fortunate this summer to have some different things to look at,” Sweeney said. “But this is the only one I wanted to look at.”
Sweeney, who turned 42 earlier this month, comes to Orlando after basically spending half his life as an assistant.
He has come a long way from Anoka-Ramsey Community College and the Academy of Art University, two of his earliest stops. He started in the NBA as a video coordinator for the then-New Jersey Nets, and has since had assistant stints with the Nets, Milwaukee, Detroit, Dallas and San Antonio. He quotes the teachings of just about everyone he’s worked for at every level, along with those he considers some of the greatest to ever blow a whistle in a basketball practice, names like Bob Knight, Tim Grgurich, Rick Majerus, Jason Kidd, Chuck Daly and his now-former boss with the Spurs, Mitch Johnson.
And then there was the guy who had the office next to him for the last year in San Antonio. That would be Gregg Popovich, the NBA’s all-time coaching wins leader.
“Coach Pop’s office was right next to mine and I was very fortunate,” Sweeney said. “When you’re next to a guy who’s the greatest coach of all time daily, the fact that he even said hello and knew my name meant something to me. So yeah, Coach Pop, he built that program and guys like me are fortunate to be part of it. I’m very grateful and that’s part of the reason why I’m here now.”
Sweeney is blunt, focused and driven. He took a look at the handful of Magic players who attended the press conference introducing him as the team’s new coach on Thursday, offering them his first message since taking the job.
Or, perhaps more accurately, it was part message, part warning.
“I’m going to listen to you guys as much as I talk to you,” Sweeney said. “Now, how I talk to you may be different than how I listen.”
