Nothing runs like a Sloan

Thursday started out normal enough. The sports radio hosts on the morning drive seemed to be implying a trade involving the Jazz might be coming down the pipeline. A couple hours later Kevin and I started talking about the rumors on our way to Cafe Rio for lunch.

We turned up the radio to let Jim Rome join in on our conversation and break the news.

Jerry Sloan. Out.

It's three days later, and I still can't fully wrap my head around it.

It was an event that was inevitably coming in the next year or two but shocking considering the circumstances. A guy who had been the head coach of my team for 23 years steps down in the middle of season. A tough, old-school Hall of Fame pro who demands heart and effort quits in essence at a time when the going is not going so well. A coach who had signed a contract extension just a few days earlier is now somewhere in an Illinois barn tweaking a tractor engine.

So for better or worse, Katie and I had tickets for Friday's game and got to help usher in the Tyrone Corbin era (unlike C.J. Miles and Al Jefferson). At least that's how I'll remember it. For Katie, it was just another chance to see this guy.

We also made it into the newspaper, sort of. See if you can find us in the picture. I'm wearing a blue hat with white lettering.

Maybe this picture will help

The Jazz Bear made an appearance in our section during the fourth quarter as part of one of his stunts. Kind of tough to tell in the picture, but he's on a mountain bike headed for a ramp at the bottom of the stairs.

Unfortunately, that was the end of the night's highlights. But back to Sloan.

This is how I'll remember Jerry Sloan, conducting team practices and media interviews wearing a John Deere hat. To me, it says everything you need to know about how the man approached his job.

Just as you can't mention Stockton without Malone and vice versa, Sloan's name belongs in the same breath. For my oxygen, Larry and Hot Rod ought to be snuck in there as well.

How great is the end of this clip!? After so many years of frustration from falling short. one 3-pointer washes it away and turns a bunch of rugged old vets into kids. No matter where, when, or how many times I see this, I smile and get choked up for a second. Makes me feel like I’m 16 again, Jazz crazed as ever, going ballistic in my parent’s basement over my team finally reaching the NBA Finals.

I love talking to non-Jazz fans about the NBA and how many players caught fire during their time with the Jazz (Howard Eisley, Thurl Bailey, Raja Bell, Ronnie Brewer, Byron Russell, Shandon Anderson, Mo Williams to name a few) only to struggle after leaving Utah, whether it be because of a trade or in pursuit of “greener” pastures. That was never a coincidence to me. They were products of a system. The Jerry Sloan system.

I took great pride in being a fan of the team with the longest tenured coach in professional sports. And its crazy to think that within the past six months, the longest tenured coaches in the NFL (Jeff Fischer – Titans) and Major League Baseball (Bobby Cox – Braves) have also left the game. (Bonus points for those of you who can figure out who now owns these honors.)

I don’t believe Sloan wanted to leave Thursday. I don’t believe he just got tired. And I don’t believe this was all Deron Williams' doing either.

As most of these situations tend to be, I believe the truth is somewhere in the middle of all the rumors, speculations, things said and things left unsaid. And at the end of the day, I believe this is a good thing for Sloan, Williams, and the Jazz.

But I'm going to miss Jerry.

Trivia Answer (which I am proud to say I nailed two of the three without looking up and was very close on the other one.) MLB – Tony LaRussa (17 seasons) . NBA – Gregg Popovich, Spurs (16 seasons). NFL - Andy Reid (11 seasons)