The San Antonio Spurs wasted no time in filling their head coaching position after Gregg Popovich’s retirement.
The Spurs will promote assistant coach Mitch Johnson as Popovich’s full-time replacement as head coach, according to Shams Charania of ESPN. Johnson served as the Spurs’ interim coach for much of last season after Popovich suffered a stroke.
Breaking: The San Antonio Spurs are hiring assistant Mitch Johnson as the franchise's next head coach, sources tell ESPN. Johnson has been an assistant in Spurs program for a decade, took over as interim coach in November – and now earns job as Gregg Popovich's successor. pic.twitter.com/43tpK5gEA9
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) May 2, 2025
Marc Stein of The Stein Line had previously reported that there was a strong expectation that the Spurs would name Johnson as Popovich’s successor.
The strong expectation, league sources say, is that that the Spurs will name Mitch Johnson as Pop’s full-time coaching replacement.
— Marc Stein (@TheSteinLine) May 2, 2025
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The Spurs’ coaching staff has churned out numerous head coaches under Popovich, so it makes sense that they would stay in-house to hire his replacement. Johnson has been a member of the team’s staff since 2019 and had been Popovich’s go-to acting coach even before last season. With Popovich set to take over as team president, it makes sense that he might also have favored Johnson if he had significant say in the decision on his successor.
The Spurs went 34-48 overall last season, and 31-45 with Johnson as their interim coach.
The franchise likely would have attract a lot of interest from high-profile names had they opted to conduct a full coaching search. The organization has a reputation for stability, and has an outstanding young core in place led by Victor Wembanyama, De’Aaron Fox, and Stephon Castle. They have a legitimate chance to become one of the main contenders in the Western Conference in the years to come if they play their cards right. Johnson will be the one to inherit that enviable situation.
