It was a baptism by fire kind of Year 1 for Celtics head coach Joe Mazzulla.

Promoted to interim head coach just days before the official opening of training camp following Ime Udoka’s suspension and eventual dismissal, the Celtics seemingly lived and died with Mazzulla learning on the job.

But the highs clearly outweighed the lows, as the 34-year-old Mazzulla turned his interim run into a full-time gig with the Celtics this past February, and with the youngest head coach in the NBA just one win away from guiding the Celtics to the NBA Finals in his first postseason as an NBA head coach.

It’s all more than enough to give Mazzulla what you’d consider strong footing in regards to his job security entering the offseason, according to one of the game’s top insiders.

• Appearing on FanDuel TV following the Celtics’ Game 7 loss to the Heat, Stadium’s Shams Charania shed some light on what he’s hearing in regards to both Mazzulla and the overall structure of the C’s coaching staff following a year that forced everyone to adjust on the fly, and at multiple points no less.

  “Well I think you look at Jayson Tatum’s comments after the game, I the fact that he vouched for Joe Mazzulla, I think that was of note,” Charania began. “But the impression I’m getting right now is that the Celtics and Mazzulla will look more towards stacking and elevating his bench with more veteran assistants. They need some depth on that staff. I think they’re going to look more toward that this offseason.”

  In addition to everybody moving up a post or two, the Celtics also lost assistant Will Hardy to the Jazz as Utah’s head coach, while top assistant coach Damon Stoudamire left the team late in the regular season to become the next head coach at Georgia Tech.

  The Celtics needing some more know-how in the assistant ranks was true in the summer, the spring, and the now. The playoffs perhaps only exposed that as a more dire need than originally thought for Brad Stevens and the Celtics.

  “There definitely was momentum built in this series. You win three in a row, make this a series where you go into Game 7 at home, chance to make history,” said Charania. “I think everything that went into this… Joe Mazzulla didn’t find out he was going to be the head coach until literally a day or two before Media Day when all the Ime Udoka stuff happened. So there is something to be said there for having a full offseason to have to your own and really build the right way.”

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  BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS – MAY 29: Jayson Tatum #0 talks with head coach Joe Mazzulla of the Boston Celtics during the third quarter against the Miami Heat in game seven of the Eastern Conference Finals at TD Garden on May 29, 2023 in Boston, Massachusetts. (Adam Glanzman/Getty Images)

• As alluded to by Charania, Tatum also gave Mazzulla a straight-up glowing review given the undeniably difficult job he was tasked with entering the 2022-23 season.

  “I mean, it was his first year, we got to the Conference Finals Game 7,” Tatum said. “I don’t think people give him or us enough credit that, two days before season starts, we find out we’re going to have a new coach. We didn’t have Rob the first 25, 30 games of the season, we never got a chance to have Gallo [Danilo Gallinari], and we got a new coach one day before Media Day. You know, that was an adjustment. We all figured it out. Obviously, we wanted to win the championship. Didn’t happen.

  “I think Joe did a great job. We won 50-some odd games. We got to the Game 7 Conference Finals. Obviously, everybody can be better [and] learn from this, but I think Joe did a great job this year.”

  Mazzulla also got some props from Jaylen Brown following the team’s Game 7 loss to Miami.

  “I give Joe my respect,” Brown said. “Tough situation to be in. And he took it and he took it head on and ran with it. We had two rookie head coaches in the last two years, and Joe picking up from Ime as an interim starting off and then progressing as being the head coach, just fully took that challenge on and led us to this point. That’s a tough position for a guy to be in. It’s a tough position for a team to be in. Coming off of a Finals run, but we didn’t make any excuses and I’m not making any excuses now. We came up short. But I still give my respect to our coaching staff and that group that we had on the floor.”

  Having the backing and support of Boston’s two top stars should go a long way for Mazzulla’s security.

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  Nov 30, 2022; Boston, Massachusetts, USA; Celtics head coach Joe Mazzulla talks with forward Jayson Tatum (0) and center Al Horford (42) from the sideline as they take on the Heat at TD Garden. (David Butler II-USA TODAY Sports)

• But there’s also a contractual commitment at play — and quite a substantial one, at that — when it comes to the Celtics’ belief in and commitment to Mazzulla, according to Charania.

  “And the bottom line also is Joe Mazzulla has about $14 million, from what I’m told, [left] on his deal for the three years after this,” Charania revealed. “They just signed him to that new deal, and I think given how this year went — yes, if he got swept, I think there would be a lot more questions. But the fact that it did go to Game 7, I think it allowed the Celtics to see that there is a little bit of runway and some potential here.”

  The Celtics giving an extra three years and $14 million to Mazzulla after just 59 games is its own topic and debate, of course. But now comes seeing if it’s money that was well spent when Mazzulla and the Celtics spend their summer building out a more complete, detailed staff. And, finally, with time on their side.

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  May 21, 2023; Miami, Florida, USA; Celtics head coach Joe Mazzulla during the third quarter against the Miami Heat in Game 3 of the Eastern Conference Finals for the 2023 NBA playoffs at Kaseya Center. (Sam Navarro-USA TODAY Sports)

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