Call Jerry Sloan the anti-Favre. It’s never been a will-he-or-won’t-he situation with Coach in Utah. The man’s been at the helm of the Jazz for the majority of the time they’ve been there, literally. I knew the clock was ticking, but I never expected Sloan to step down midseason. The more I learned what the reasons were, the more I felt upset for him. Word quickly spread that he’s had a tumultuous relationship with Deron Williams that came to a head the other night, leading Sloan to proclaim that he’s “done.” I would’ve thought Phil Johnson would be the natural successor, but he quit too. I know Deron Williams is the best player and all, but if you’re the Jazz ownership, how can you let him drive out your coach of 23 years? Larry Miller wouldn’t have stood for this. But you won’t really hear many sour grapes over this – from Sloan or from anybody. Because that’s how his coaching career went. He didn’t make a big deal out of his himself, and neither did the media. There’s no shortage of ridiculous numbers detailing Sloan’s unparalleled tenure, so I won’t regurgitate too many of those, but the guy had ONE losing season in his entire career. He also took the Jazz to the NBA Finals twice. The knock on him, of course, will always be that he never won a championship, but c’mon, can we honestly say he ever had championship caliber talent? They were pretty much at that level in 97-98, but they ran into Jordan and the Bulls. You know what else Jerry Sloan never won? A Coach of the Year award. Frank Layden won it in 1984 when he had Adrian Dantley and Darrell Griffith combining for 50 points a night en route to a 45-37 record. Sloan topped that record 18 times. Sure he had Stockton and Malone, but didn’t anybody wonder why they stayed in Utah their whole careers? Yet somehow, in Williams’ 6th season, he’s decided he’d rather play for Tyrone Corbin. This really just feels like the beginning of the demise of the Utah Jazz, unfortunately. But you won’t see or read much about it. The world ignored Jerry Sloan for 23 years, so don’t expect anything to change (other than the Jazz’s fortunes). Next weekend I’ll be making my annual trip out to Utah, which is like my second home, and I’m pretty confident it’ll be the first time I’ve ever been there when Jerry Sloan was not the coach. It’s gonna be a weird vibe…….
By
cali4dre
chappy81
dyslecix
mceezy
Doin Work 
February 11th, 2011 at 2:30 am
Good credit to Sloan, Mac.
You’re right, it will be weird not seeing him on the sidelines.
He was never one to give an inch and it’s a shame,that his alleged conflict with D. Williams led to his stepping down.
I wonder if he’d ever consider another gig or if this is it for one of the greatest NBA coaches ever.
February 11th, 2011 at 7:43 am
mceezy
Sloan has been a class act from day one ! It’s staggering to know that in this day and age that at the drop of a hat a coach can be kicked out of a job merely because his players aren’t playing up to their potential even when he’s telling them what’s wrong with their game !
Jazz owner Larry Miller and the front office may well rue the day they let him walk away from the organization . My question was he pushed or did he fall on his own sword for the sake of the team ? I do know this the relationship between he and Deron Williams wasn’t as cozy as we were led to believe !
tophatal ………….
February 11th, 2011 at 8:33 am
“You know what else Jerry Sloan never won? A Coach of the Year award.”
This is really the big injustice of Sloan’s career, because as you pointed out, he led many winning teams for a franchise that never could attract “prime-time” free-agent talent.
February 11th, 2011 at 10:07 am
It’s funny By and I were talking about how much of a douche D-Will is, but we’d like him on our team. Now I’m not so sure if he’s the main reason Sloan left. I guess he’s just a douche that upset one of the nicest coaches around…
I feel like Sloan is somewhat like Adelman, he always gets as much as he can out of players, but can’t get the glory of a championship. Doesn’t mean either isn’t a good coach since Phil and Poppavich pretty much took all the championships the last decade plus…
February 11th, 2011 at 5:02 pm
Guys how crazy is the situation ?
Sloan coached for twenty three years took the Jazz to fourteen consecutive years in the playoffs and 20 overall including two consecutive NBA Finals (96-97/97-98) . And this is how the organization repays him ? GM Kevin O’Connor and Team President Greg Miller are “oafs” to have accepted the resignation !
<p
February 11th, 2011 at 7:50 pm
Yeah, I would’ve shipped Deron Williams out as soon as possible. I’m real disappointed in them
February 13th, 2011 at 6:00 pm
mceezy
Williams is a free agent at the end of this season and it’s clear that the organization (front office) doesn’t want to lose the guy with then having to start from scratch to rebuild .the roster .
tophatal ……
February 12th, 2011 at 4:39 pm
I don’t care how much Deron Williams said he didn’t have any say in this, he’s a liar. Period.
Meehan
February 13th, 2011 at 6:32 pm
In today’s sports arena it’s about the egos of the superstar players and nine times out of ten they’ll be backed by ownership rather than backing the coach . ‘nough said !
tophatal ……………