Correct use of Flyback or Snubber diode across Motor or Transistor?

Consider the operation of the circuit.

When the transistor is on current is flowing in the coil from top to bottom as the circuit is drawn we now switch the transistor off. The current in the coil still wants to flow.

For the circuit on the left this current can now flow back to Vcc via the diode the voltage across the coil has reversed direction and is limited by the diode the current can decay to zero safely.

For the circuit on the right the diode does not help. The current flowing in the coil will force the voltage on the collector to rise to the point where the transistor (or possibly the diode) breaks down and starts to conduct. At this point the current can start to decay in the coil but the energy in the broke down transistor (or less likely diode) will be excessive and may well result in the transistors death. Note a zener diode here will work because you allow the voltage on the coil to reverse so the current can decay to zero while limiting the voltage across the transistor to a safe value.

It should be noted the allowing the voltage across the coil to reverse to an higher voltage means the current can decay more quickly which is why you sometimes see a zener in the right hand circuit or more than one diode in series in the left hand one.

A zener can work in both but a diode wouldn't

A zener.

For the left it would just function a diode (with some supply clamping..) For the right it will rapidly discharge the coil (if rated correctly - tvs)

A diode

For the left it will be a normal chopper with a free wheel path. For the right you have a dead transistor

The latter can't possibly be correct. The induced current flows in the same direction that the original current did, and a reverse-biased junction diode won't help. The voltage that builds up from such a current across the now near-infinite resistance is what damages the transistor in the first place (the Zener works by allowing the current to flow past once the voltage reaches a given maximum). That the transistor is still operational after switch-off in such a configuration is dumb luck.