Jerry Sloan
Encyclopedia
Gerald Eugene "Jerry" Sloan (born March 28, 1942), is an American
former National Basketball Association
(NBA) player and head coach
, and a member of the Basketball Hall of Fame
. NBA commissioner David Stern
called Sloan "one of the greatest and most respected coaches in NBA history." Sloan had a career regular-season win–loss record of 1,221–803, placing him third all-time in NBA wins. Sloan was only the fifth coach in NBA history to reach the 1,000 victory milestone, and he is the only coach in NBA history to record 1,000 wins with one club (the Utah Jazz
). He also coached for one team longer than anyone in NBA history. The 2009–10 season was his 22nd season (and 21st full season) as coach of the Jazz. Sloan coached the Jazz to 15 consecutive playoff appearances from 1989–2003. Although he never won a Coach of the Year award, he is one of only three coaches in NBA history with 15-plus consecutive seasons with a winning record (Pat Riley
and Phil Jackson
are the others). He led Utah to the NBA Finals
in 1997 and 1998, but lost to the Chicago Bulls
both times.
After Tom Kelly
stepped down as manager of the Minnesota Twins
in Major League Baseball
in 2001, Sloan became the longest-tenured head coach in American major league sports with their current franchise. He resigned on February 10, 2011.
, Sloan was one of ten children being raised by a single mother. He would wake up at 4.30 a.m. to do farm chores and then walk almost two miles to get to school in time for 7 a.m. basketball practice. Sloan graduated an all-state player from McLeansboro High School in 1960.
He spent around five weeks at the University of Illinois
then quit school due to homesickness. After working for a time at the oil fields, Sloan moved to the University of Evansville
. He played college basketball
under Evansville coach Arad McCutchan
even as he worked part-time making refrigerators for Whirlpool
. Amassing 15.5 points per contest, Sloan was the leading scorer for the Purple Aces
in each of his three seasons as a starter. He led Evansville twice to the NCAA
College Division Tournament (now known as the Division II Tournament
), which included a perfect 29-0 season in 1965, and was voted a second team All-American during his senior season.
Sloan was originally selected as an eligible junior in the third round of the 1964 NBA Draft
by the Baltimore Bullets
. He decided to stay in college, and was then selected by the Bullets again in the 1965 NBA Draft
with the sixth overall pick. He played just one season for the Bullets under coach Paul Seymour
. He then went on to play for the Chicago Bulls
under Johnny Kerr
during the Bulls' formative years. He was the first player selected by the Bulls in the expansion draft, earning him the nickname "The Original Bull." Sloan was known for his tenacity on defense, and led the expansion team to the playoffs in its first season.
Sloan enjoyed a good NBA career, playing in two All-Star Games, being named to the NBA All-Defensive
First Team four times and the All-Defensive Second team twice. He also led the Bulls to the playoffs
on various occasions and helped them to win one division title, the only one the franchise has earned before the Michael Jordan
era. Sloan averaged 9.1 rebounds per game in his second season, and his career rebounding average of 7.4 rebounds per game is unusually high for a guard. He is currently fourth on the Bulls' all-time scoring list. With an average of 2.15 steals per game (tabulated over his last three seasons), Sloan is ranked tenth in the NBA's all-time leaders category for steals per game, just behind John Stockton
(2.17 SPG). Sloan recorded two triple-doubles during his career, and scored a career-high 43 points in a 1969 game versus the Milwaukee Bucks
.
Sloan's playing career was cut short by successive knee injuries, and he turned his attention to coaching. Because of his influential career with the Bulls, the franchise retired Sloan's No. 4 jersey, the first jersey retired by the Bulls.
After two years, Sloan was hired by the Bulls as a scout. After one season in this role, he became an assistant coach with the team. In 1979, Sloan moved up the ranks to become head coach of the Bulls. He was head coach of the Bulls for less than three seasons, winning 94 games and losing 121. He led the team to the playoffs in his second year, but was fired after a poor start during the next campaign.
After departing Chicago, Sloan became a scout for the Utah Jazz
for one season. He then became coach of the Evansville Thunder
of the Continental Basketball Association
for the 1984 season before returning to the rank of Utah assistant. After Frank Layden
became team president in December 1988, the Jazz chose Sloan as the new head coach. Sloan enjoyed a highly successful run of sixteen consecutive seasons of taking his team to the playoffs, and he has coached such players as Karl Malone
, John Stockton
, Jeff Hornacek
, Antoine Carr
, Tom Chambers, Mark Eaton
, and Jeff Malone
during the process.
Sloan has led the Jazz to six division championships and ten seasons with over fifty wins. He also took the Jazz to the NBA Finals
twice, losing in the 1997
and 1998
championships, both times to his old team, the Michael Jordan-led Bulls. By the end of this period, he had joined Pat Riley
and Phil Jackson
as the only coaches with ten or more seasons winning fifty or more games. After the retirement of long-time Jazz anchors John Stockton
and Karl Malone
, Sloan coached a younger group of budding stars, including Carlos Boozer
, Andrei Kirilenko
and, later, Deron Williams
.
In spring of 2004, Sloan and his team were involved in a battle for the eighth spot in the NBA's western conference
for that season, which would have given Sloan his seventeenth straight trip to the playoffs. The Jazz were tied with the Denver Nuggets
for the eighth and last spot of the playoffs with three games to go in the regular season. The Jazz lost the final two games, causing Sloan to miss the playoffs for the first time in eighteen seasons as Jazz coach. After leading a young, dismantled team to an unexpected 42–40 record, he finished just behind Hubie Brown
of the Memphis Grizzlies
in voting for the 2004 NBA Coach of the Year Award
.
Sloan collected his 1,000th career win against the Dallas Mavericks on December 11, 2006, in a 101–79 victory, which made him only the fifth coach in NBA history to reach the milestone. After disappointing seasons in 2004–05 and 2005–06, the strong play of the Jazz in the 2006–07 season had renewed speculation from some sportswriters that Sloan would be a strong candidate for NBA Coach of the Year in 2007. But Sloan lost the award to Sam Mitchell
, coach of the Toronto Raptors
, who led his team to a franchise-record-tying 47 victories and their first Atlantic Division title. Sloan lost by 93 points, 394–301.
Sloan and the Jazz advanced to the Western Conference finals on May 15, 2007 with a 100–87 win over the Golden State Warriors
. It's the sixth time in franchise history that Utah advanced to the conference finals, all coming under Sloan.
During the 2008-2009 season, Sloan reached 1,000 wins as coach of the Jazz on November 7 after Utah beat the Oklahoma City Thunder
104–97 in a Friday night game. He is the only coach in NBA history with 1,000 wins for one team. Sloan returned as head coach of the Jazz for the 2009–10 season leading the team to a 53-29 record and the playoffs.
Mirroring his tenacity as a player, Sloan was just as fiery as a coach. He was suspended one game for pushing referee Bob Delaney
in April 1993. After a decade, Sloan was served a seven-game suspension in 2003 for pushing referee Courtney Kirkland in Sacramento.
In April 2009 Sloan was announced to the Basketball Hall of Fame, alongside his former point guard John Stockton
.
resigned their positions effective immediately. Sloan downplayed reports that conflicts with players prompted his departure. "I've had confrontations with players since I've been in the league," Sloan said. "There's only so much energy left and my energy has dropped." KSL-TV
later asked Sloan whether reported conflicts with guard Deron Williams
forced him to leave. "I forced myself out," Sloan responded. Williams acknowledge he had a disagreement with Sloan during the previous night's game, but he added, "I would never force coach Sloan out of Utah. He's meant more to this town, more to this organization than I have by far. I would have asked out of Utah first." Assistant coach Tyrone Corbin
was named as Sloan's replacement.
His last NBA game as Jazz head coach came against, coincidentally, the Chicago Bulls. The Jazz lost, 91-86, on February 9, in a game with various subplots such as former Jazz forward Carlos Boozer
, now a Chicago Bull, revisiting his former club, and Sloan's long association with the Bulls as a player and coach.
, she died of pancreatic cancer
in 2004. They had three children and were married 41 years. One of his sons, Brian
, also played basketball for McLeansboro High School and was a member of its undefeated 1984 state championship team, and also played five seasons under Coach Bob Knight at Indiana University
, collecting an NCAA title in 1987.
In 2006 Jerry Sloan married Tammy Jessop, in Salt Lake City. Sloan has a stepson, Rhett as a result of his marriage to Jessop.
Sloan is known to wear John Deere
hats and to collect and restore John Deere tractors as a hobby. After years of a self-confessed habit of drinking and smoking too much, he has since stopped both, although he has claimed that it never affected him or his coaching.
| align="left" |CHI
| align="left" |
|82||30||52||.366|| align="center" |3rd in Midwest||—||—||—||—
| align="center" |Missed Playoffs
|-
| align="left" |CHI
| align="left" |
|82||45||37||.549|| align="center" |2nd in Central||6||2||4||.333
| align="center" |Lost in First Round
|-
| align="left" |CHI
| align="left" |
|51||19||31||.373|| align="center" |(fired)||—||—||—||—
| align="center" |—
|-
| align="left" |UTA
| align="left" |
|65||40||25||.615|| align="center" |1st in Midwest||3||0||3||.000
| align="center" |Lost in First Round
|-
| align="left" |UTA
| align="left" |
|82||55||27||.671|| align="center" |2nd in Midwest||5||2||3||.400
| align="center" |Lost in First Round
|-
| align="left" |UTA
| align="left" |
|82||54||28||.659|| align="center" |2nd in Midwest||9||4||5||.444
| align="center" |Lost in Conf. Semifinals
|-
| align="left" |UTA
| align="left" |
|82||55||27||.671|| align="center" |1st in Midwest||16||9||7||.563
| align="center" |Lost in Conf. Finals
|-
| align="left" |UTA
| align="left" |
|82||47||35||.573|| align="center" |3rd in Midwest||5||2||3||.400
| align="center" |Lost in First Round
|-
| align="left" |UTA
| align="left" |
|82||53||29||.646|| align="center" |3rd in Midwest||16||8||8||.500
| align="center" |Lost in Conf. Finals
|-
| align="left" |UTA
| align="left" |
||82||60||22||.732|| align="center" |2nd in Midwest||5||2||3||.400
| align="center" |Lost in First Round
|-
| align="left" |UTA
| align="left" |
|82||55||27||.671|| align="center" |2nd in Midwest||18||10||8||.556
| align="center" |Lost in Conf. Finals
|-
| align="left" |UTA
| align="left" |
|82||64||18||.780|| align="center" |1st in Midwest||20||13||7||.650
| align="center" |Lost in NBA Finals
|-
| align="left" |UTA
| align="left" |
|82||62||20||.756|| align="center" |1st in Midwest||20||13||7||.650
| align="center" |Lost in NBA Finals
|-
| align="left" |UTA
| align="left" |
|50||37||13||.740|| align="center" |2nd in Midwest||11||5||6||.455
| align="center" |Lost in Conf. Semifinals
|-
| align="left" |UTA
| align="left" |
|82||55||27||.671|| align="center" |3rd in Midwest||10||4||6||.400
| align="center" |Lost in Conf. Semifinals
|-
| align="left" |UTA
| align="left" |
|82||53||29||.646|| align="center" |3rd in Midwest||5||2||3||.400
| align="center" |Lost in First Round
|-
| align="left" |UTA
| align="left" |
|82||44||38||.537|| align="center" |4th in Midwest||4||1||3||.250
| align="center" |Lost in First Round
|-
| align="left" |UTA
| align="left" |
|82||47||35||.573|| align="center" |4th in Midwest||5||1||4||.200
| align="center" |Lost in First Round
|-
| align="left" |UTA
| align="left" |
|82||42||40||.512|| align="center" |7th in Midwest||—||—||—||—
| align="center" |Missed Playoffs
|-
| align="left" |UTA
| align="left" |
|82||26||56||.317|| align="center" |5th in Northwest||—||—||—||—
| align="center" |Missed Playoffs
|-
| align="left" |UTA
| align="left" |
|82||41||41||.500|| align="center" |2nd in Northwest||—||—||—||—
| align="center" |Missed Playoffs
|-
| align="left" |UTA
| align="left" |
|82||51||31||.621|| align="center" |1st in Northwest||17||9||8||.529
| align="center" |Lost in Conf. Finals
|-
| align="left" |UTA
| align="left" |
|82||54||28||.659|| align="center" |1st in Northwest||12||6||6||.500
| align="center" |Lost in Conf. Semifinals
|-
| align="left" |UTA
| align="left" |
|82||48||34||.585|| align="center" |3rd in Northwest||5||1||4||.200
| align="center" |Lost in First Round
|-
| align="left" |UTA
| align="left" |
|82||53||29||.646|| align="center" |1st in Northwest||10||4||6||.400
| align="center" |Lost in Conf. Semifinals
|-
| align="left" |UTA
| align="left" |
|54||31||23||.574|| align="center" |(resigned)||—||—||—||—
| align="center" |—
|-class="sortbottom"
| align="left" |Career
| ||2024||1221||803||.603|| ||202||98||104||.485
"I don't care if he's 19 or 30. If he's going to be on the floor in the NBA, he's got to be able to step up and get after it. We can't put diapers on him one night, and a jockstrap the next night. It's just the way it is." –on second year guard C.J. Miles, the youngest player on the 2006–07 Utah Jazz.
After Stockton had injured his finger during a game, Jerry was asked what finger Stockton injured. Jerry replied, "The one on his hand."
"Size doesn't make any difference; heart is what makes a difference."
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
former National Basketball Association
National Basketball Association
The National Basketball Association is the pre-eminent men's professional basketball league in North America. It consists of thirty franchised member clubs, of which twenty-nine are located in the United States and one in Canada...
(NBA) player and head coach
Head coach
A head coach, senior coach or manager is a professional at training and developing athletes. They typically hold a more public profile and are paid more than other coaches...
, and a member of the Basketball Hall of Fame
Basketball Hall of Fame
The Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame, located in Springfield, Massachusetts, United States, honors exceptional basketball players, coaches, referees, executives, and other major contributors to the game of basketball worldwide...
. NBA commissioner David Stern
David Stern
David Joel Stern is the commissioner of the National Basketball Association. He started with the Association in 1966 as an outside counsel, joined the NBA in 1978 as General Counsel, and became the league's Executive Vice President in 1980. He became Commissioner in 1984 succeeding Larry O'Brien...
called Sloan "one of the greatest and most respected coaches in NBA history." Sloan had a career regular-season win–loss record of 1,221–803, placing him third all-time in NBA wins. Sloan was only the fifth coach in NBA history to reach the 1,000 victory milestone, and he is the only coach in NBA history to record 1,000 wins with one club (the Utah Jazz
Utah Jazz
The Utah Jazz is a professional basketball team based in Salt Lake City, Utah. They are currently a part of the Northwest Division of the Western Conference in the National Basketball Association...
). He also coached for one team longer than anyone in NBA history. The 2009–10 season was his 22nd season (and 21st full season) as coach of the Jazz. Sloan coached the Jazz to 15 consecutive playoff appearances from 1989–2003. Although he never won a Coach of the Year award, he is one of only three coaches in NBA history with 15-plus consecutive seasons with a winning record (Pat Riley
Pat Riley
Patrick James "Pat" Riley is an American professional basketball executive, and a retired coach and player in the NBA. Currently, he is team president of the Miami Heat. Widely regarded as one of the greatest NBA coaches of all time, Riley has served as the head coach of five championship teams...
and Phil Jackson
Phil Jackson
Philip Douglas "Phil" Jackson is a retired American professional basketball coach and player. Jackson is widely considered one of the greatest coaches in the history of the National Basketball Association . His reputation was established as head coach of the Chicago Bulls from 1989 through 1998;...
are the others). He led Utah to the NBA Finals
NBA Finals
The NBA Finals is the championship series of the National Basketball Association . The series was named the NBA World Championship Series until 1986....
in 1997 and 1998, but lost to the Chicago Bulls
Chicago Bulls
The Chicago Bulls are an American professional basketball team based in Chicago, Illinois, playing in the Central Division of the Eastern Conference in the National Basketball Association . The team was founded in 1966. They play their home games at the United Center...
both times.
After Tom Kelly
Tom Kelly (baseball)
Jay Thomas Kelly , is the former manager of the Minnesota Twins baseball team from to . Currently, he serves as a Special Assistant to the General Manager for the Twins....
stepped down as manager of the Minnesota Twins
Minnesota Twins
The Minnesota Twins are a professional baseball team based in Minneapolis, Minnesota. They play in the Central Division of Major League Baseball's American League. The team is named after the Twin Cities area of Minneapolis and St. Paul. They played in Metropolitan Stadium from 1961 to 1981 and the...
in Major League Baseball
Major League Baseball
Major League Baseball is the highest level of professional baseball in the United States and Canada, consisting of teams that play in the National League and the American League...
in 2001, Sloan became the longest-tenured head coach in American major league sports with their current franchise. He resigned on February 10, 2011.
Playing career
Born and raised in Gobbler's Knob, fifteen miles south of McLeansboro, IllinoisMcLeansboro, Illinois
McLeansboro is a city in Hamilton County, Illinois, United States. The population was 2,883 at the 2010 census. It is the county seat of Hamilton County. Located in Southern Illinois, the town was named for Dr. William B. McLean, who donated the land for its founding...
, Sloan was one of ten children being raised by a single mother. He would wake up at 4.30 a.m. to do farm chores and then walk almost two miles to get to school in time for 7 a.m. basketball practice. Sloan graduated an all-state player from McLeansboro High School in 1960.
He spent around five weeks at the University of Illinois
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
The University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign is a large public research-intensive university in the state of Illinois, United States. It is the flagship campus of the University of Illinois system...
then quit school due to homesickness. After working for a time at the oil fields, Sloan moved to the University of Evansville
University of Evansville
The University of Evansville is a small, private university with approximately 3,050 students located in Evansville, Indiana. Founded in 1854 as Moores Hill College, it is located near the interchange of the Lloyd Expressway and U.S. Route 41. It is affiliated with the United Methodist Church...
. He played college basketball
College basketball
College basketball most often refers to the USA basketball competitive governance structure established by the National Collegiate Athletic Association . Basketball in the NCAA is divided into three divisions: Division I, Division II and Division III....
under Evansville coach Arad McCutchan
Arad McCutchan
Arad A. McCutchan was a well-known collegiate basketball coach. The Evansville, Indiana native coached his hometown University of Evansville from 1946 to 1977, guiding the Purple Aces to a 515-313 record....
even as he worked part-time making refrigerators for Whirlpool
Whirlpool
A whirlpool is a swirling body of water usually produced by ocean tides. The vast majority of whirlpools are not very powerful. More powerful ones are more properly termed maelstroms. Vortex is the proper term for any whirlpool that has a downdraft...
. Amassing 15.5 points per contest, Sloan was the leading scorer for the Purple Aces
Evansville Purple Aces men's basketball
The Evansville Purple Aces men's basketball team represents the University of Evansville, located in Evansville, Indiana, in NCAA Division I basketball competition. Evansville's athletics teams were originally known as the Pioneers in the early part of the 1900s...
in each of his three seasons as a starter. He led Evansville twice to the NCAA
National Collegiate Athletic Association
The National Collegiate Athletic Association is a semi-voluntary association of 1,281 institutions, conferences, organizations and individuals that organizes the athletic programs of many colleges and universities in the United States...
College Division Tournament (now known as the Division II Tournament
NCAA Men's Division II Basketball Championship
The NCAA Division II Men's Basketball Championship is an annual championship tournament for colleges and universities that are members of NCAA Division II, a grouping of schools in the United States that are generally smaller than the higher-profile institutions of Division I...
), which included a perfect 29-0 season in 1965, and was voted a second team All-American during his senior season.
Sloan was originally selected as an eligible junior in the third round of the 1964 NBA Draft
1964 NBA Draft
The 1964 NBA Draft was the 18th annual draft of the National Basketball Association . The draft was held on May 4, 1964 before the 1964–65 season. In this draft, nine NBA teams took turns selecting amateur U.S. college basketball players. A player who had finished his four-year college eligibility...
by the Baltimore Bullets
Washington Wizards
The Washington Wizards are a professional basketball team based in Washington, D.C., previously known as Washington Bullets. They play in the National Basketball Association .-Early years:...
. He decided to stay in college, and was then selected by the Bullets again in the 1965 NBA Draft
1965 NBA Draft
The 1965 NBA Draft was the 19th annual draft of the National Basketball Association . The draft was held on May 6, 1965, before the 1965–66 season....
with the sixth overall pick. He played just one season for the Bullets under coach Paul Seymour
Paul Seymour (basketball)
Paul Norman Seymour was an American basketball player and coach. A 6'1" guard, he played collegiately at the University of Toledo, and had a 12-year career in the NBA and its predecessor, the Basketball Association of America...
. He then went on to play for the Chicago Bulls
Chicago Bulls
The Chicago Bulls are an American professional basketball team based in Chicago, Illinois, playing in the Central Division of the Eastern Conference in the National Basketball Association . The team was founded in 1966. They play their home games at the United Center...
under Johnny Kerr
Johnny Kerr
John G. “Red” Kerr was an American basketball player, coach, and color commentator. He played in the NBA from 1954 to 1966, mainly as a member of the Syracuse Nationals...
during the Bulls' formative years. He was the first player selected by the Bulls in the expansion draft, earning him the nickname "The Original Bull." Sloan was known for his tenacity on defense, and led the expansion team to the playoffs in its first season.
Sloan enjoyed a good NBA career, playing in two All-Star Games, being named to the NBA All-Defensive
NBA All-Defensive Team
The NBA All-Defensive Team is an annual National Basketball Association honor given since the 1968–69 NBA season to the best defensive players during the regular season. Voting is conducted by the NBA head coaches; the coaches are not allowed to vote for players on their own team...
First Team four times and the All-Defensive Second team twice. He also led the Bulls to the playoffs
NBA Playoffs
The National Basketball Association Playoffs is a best-of-seven elimination tournament among sixteen teams in the Eastern Conference and Western Conference , ultimately deciding the final four teams who will play in the NBA Conference Finals.-Format:Following the NBA regular season, eight teams in...
on various occasions and helped them to win one division title, the only one the franchise has earned before the Michael Jordan
Michael Jordan
Michael Jeffrey Jordan is a former American professional basketball player, active entrepreneur, and majority owner of the Charlotte Bobcats...
era. Sloan averaged 9.1 rebounds per game in his second season, and his career rebounding average of 7.4 rebounds per game is unusually high for a guard. He is currently fourth on the Bulls' all-time scoring list. With an average of 2.15 steals per game (tabulated over his last three seasons), Sloan is ranked tenth in the NBA's all-time leaders category for steals per game, just behind John Stockton
John Stockton
John Houston Stockton is a retired American professional basketball player who spent his entire career as a point guard for the Utah Jazz of the NBA from 1984 to 2003. Stockton is regarded as one of the best point guards of all time, holding the NBA records for most career assists and steals by...
(2.17 SPG). Sloan recorded two triple-doubles during his career, and scored a career-high 43 points in a 1969 game versus the Milwaukee Bucks
Milwaukee Bucks
The Milwaukee Bucks are a professional basketball team based in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, United States. They are part of the Central Division of the Eastern Conference in the National Basketball Association . The team was founded in 1968 as an expansion team, and currently plays at the Bradley Center....
.
Sloan's playing career was cut short by successive knee injuries, and he turned his attention to coaching. Because of his influential career with the Bulls, the franchise retired Sloan's No. 4 jersey, the first jersey retired by the Bulls.
Coaching career
While at Evansville, coach McCutchan suggested to Sloan to coach at his alma mater. After retiring in 1976, Sloan took the Evansville job but withdrew after five days. That same season the Evansville basketball team as well as coaches were killed in a plane crash at Evansville Airport.After two years, Sloan was hired by the Bulls as a scout. After one season in this role, he became an assistant coach with the team. In 1979, Sloan moved up the ranks to become head coach of the Bulls. He was head coach of the Bulls for less than three seasons, winning 94 games and losing 121. He led the team to the playoffs in his second year, but was fired after a poor start during the next campaign.
After departing Chicago, Sloan became a scout for the Utah Jazz
Utah Jazz
The Utah Jazz is a professional basketball team based in Salt Lake City, Utah. They are currently a part of the Northwest Division of the Western Conference in the National Basketball Association...
for one season. He then became coach of the Evansville Thunder
Evansville Thunder
The Evansville Thunder were a professional basketball team who played in Evansville, Indiana from 1984 to 1986. The team was a member of the Continental Basketball Association and played at Roberts Municipal Stadium...
of the Continental Basketball Association
Continental Basketball Association
The Continental Basketball Association was a professional men's basketball league in the United States, which has been on hiatus since the 2009 season.- History :...
for the 1984 season before returning to the rank of Utah assistant. After Frank Layden
Frank Layden
Frank Layden is a retired American basketball coach and executive of the NBA's Utah Jazz.-Coaching career:In additional to his coaching at the professional level, Layden is also a former head coach and player of his alma mater Niagara University's basketball team...
became team president in December 1988, the Jazz chose Sloan as the new head coach. Sloan enjoyed a highly successful run of sixteen consecutive seasons of taking his team to the playoffs, and he has coached such players as Karl Malone
Karl Malone
Karl Anthony Malone , nicknamed "The Mailman", is a retired American professional basketball power forward who spent the majority of his career with the Utah Jazz of the National Basketball Association . Malone spent his first 18 seasons with the Jazz and formed a formidable duo with his teammate...
, John Stockton
John Stockton
John Houston Stockton is a retired American professional basketball player who spent his entire career as a point guard for the Utah Jazz of the NBA from 1984 to 2003. Stockton is regarded as one of the best point guards of all time, holding the NBA records for most career assists and steals by...
, Jeff Hornacek
Jeff Hornacek
Jeffrey John Hornacek is a retired American basketball player who played at the shooting guard position in the NBA from 1986–2000.-Elementary and high school:...
, Antoine Carr
Antoine Carr
Antoine Labotte Carr is a retired American basketball player. A 16-year NBA journeyman, he was known for the goggles he wore onto the court.-Early life:Antoine Carr was born in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma...
, Tom Chambers, Mark Eaton
Mark Eaton (basketball)
Mark E. Eaton is a retired American professional basketball player who was a member of the NBA's Utah Jazz from 1982 to 1994. He was famous for his giant frame and his strong defense...
, and Jeff Malone
Jeff Malone
Jeffrey Nigel Malone is a retired American professional basketball player. He played college basketball at Mississippi State University, and is mostly known for his time with the Washington Bullets of the NBA, where he was an NBA All-Star twice, playing the shooting guard position...
during the process.
Sloan has led the Jazz to six division championships and ten seasons with over fifty wins. He also took the Jazz to the NBA Finals
NBA Finals
The NBA Finals is the championship series of the National Basketball Association . The series was named the NBA World Championship Series until 1986....
twice, losing in the 1997
1997 NBA Finals
The 1997 NBA Finals was the concluding series of the 1997 NBA Playoffs that determined the champion of the 1996–97 NBA season. The Utah Jazz of the Western Conference took on the Chicago Bulls of the Eastern Conference for the title, with the Bulls holding home court advantage...
and 1998
1998 NBA Finals
The 1998 NBA Finals was the championship round of the 1997-98 National Basketball Association season. The Chicago Bulls of the Eastern Conference played against the Utah Jazz of the Western Conference, with the Jazz holding home-court advantage with the first 2 games in Salt Lake City...
championships, both times to his old team, the Michael Jordan-led Bulls. By the end of this period, he had joined Pat Riley
Pat Riley
Patrick James "Pat" Riley is an American professional basketball executive, and a retired coach and player in the NBA. Currently, he is team president of the Miami Heat. Widely regarded as one of the greatest NBA coaches of all time, Riley has served as the head coach of five championship teams...
and Phil Jackson
Phil Jackson
Philip Douglas "Phil" Jackson is a retired American professional basketball coach and player. Jackson is widely considered one of the greatest coaches in the history of the National Basketball Association . His reputation was established as head coach of the Chicago Bulls from 1989 through 1998;...
as the only coaches with ten or more seasons winning fifty or more games. After the retirement of long-time Jazz anchors John Stockton
John Stockton
John Houston Stockton is a retired American professional basketball player who spent his entire career as a point guard for the Utah Jazz of the NBA from 1984 to 2003. Stockton is regarded as one of the best point guards of all time, holding the NBA records for most career assists and steals by...
and Karl Malone
Karl Malone
Karl Anthony Malone , nicknamed "The Mailman", is a retired American professional basketball power forward who spent the majority of his career with the Utah Jazz of the National Basketball Association . Malone spent his first 18 seasons with the Jazz and formed a formidable duo with his teammate...
, Sloan coached a younger group of budding stars, including Carlos Boozer
Carlos Boozer
Carlos Austin Boozer, Jr. is an American professional basketball player with the Chicago Bulls of the National Basketball Association...
, Andrei Kirilenko
Andrei Kirilenko (basketball)
Andrei Gennadyevich Kirilenko is a Russian-American professional basketball player who plays at the small forward position for the CSKA Moscow in the Russian Professional Basketball League. He also plays for the Russia national basketball team...
and, later, Deron Williams
Deron Williams
Deron Michael Williams , nicknamed D-Will, is an American basketball player currently with the New Jersey Nets of the National Basketball Association . Williams has also played for the Utah Jazz of the NBA and Beşiktaş of the Turkish Basketball League...
.
In spring of 2004, Sloan and his team were involved in a battle for the eighth spot in the NBA's western conference
Western Conference (NBA)
Below is a list of current Western Conference NBA team rosters.-Western Conference:There are a total of 15 teams in the Western Conference. The current leading team of the Western conference are the Dallas Mavericks....
for that season, which would have given Sloan his seventeenth straight trip to the playoffs. The Jazz were tied with the Denver Nuggets
Denver Nuggets
The Denver Nuggets are a professional basketball team based in Denver, Colorado. They play in the National Basketball Association . They were founded as the Denver Rockets in 1967 as a charter franchise of the American Basketball Association, and became one of that league's more successful teams...
for the eighth and last spot of the playoffs with three games to go in the regular season. The Jazz lost the final two games, causing Sloan to miss the playoffs for the first time in eighteen seasons as Jazz coach. After leading a young, dismantled team to an unexpected 42–40 record, he finished just behind Hubie Brown
Hubie Brown
Hubert Jude "Hubie" Brown is a retired American basketball coach and a current television analyst. Brown is a two-time NBA Coach of the Year, the honors being separated by 26 years...
of the Memphis Grizzlies
Memphis Grizzlies
The Memphis Grizzlies are a professional basketball team based in Memphis, Tennessee, USA. The team is part of the Southwest Division of the Western Conference in the National Basketball Association . Along with the Toronto Raptors, the Grizzlies were established in 1995 as part of the NBA's...
in voting for the 2004 NBA Coach of the Year Award
NBA Coach of the Year Award
The National Basketball Association's Coach of the Year is an annual National Basketball Association award given since the 1962–63 NBA season. The winner receives the Red Auerbach Trophy, which is named in honor of the head coach who led the Boston Celtics to nine NBA Championships from 1956 to 1966...
.
Sloan collected his 1,000th career win against the Dallas Mavericks on December 11, 2006, in a 101–79 victory, which made him only the fifth coach in NBA history to reach the milestone. After disappointing seasons in 2004–05 and 2005–06, the strong play of the Jazz in the 2006–07 season had renewed speculation from some sportswriters that Sloan would be a strong candidate for NBA Coach of the Year in 2007. But Sloan lost the award to Sam Mitchell
Sam Mitchell (basketball)
Samuel "Sam" E. Mitchell, Jr. is a retired American professional basketball player and a former head coach in the National Basketball Association . He is currently an assistant coach with the New Jersey Nets....
, coach of the Toronto Raptors
Toronto Raptors
The Toronto Raptors are a professional basketball team based in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. They are part of the Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference in the National Basketball Association . The team was established in 1995, along with the Vancouver Grizzlies, as part of the NBA's re-expansion...
, who led his team to a franchise-record-tying 47 victories and their first Atlantic Division title. Sloan lost by 93 points, 394–301.
Sloan and the Jazz advanced to the Western Conference finals on May 15, 2007 with a 100–87 win over the Golden State Warriors
Golden State Warriors
The Golden State Warriors are an American professional basketball team based in Oakland, California. They are part of the Pacific Division of the Western Conference in the National Basketball Association...
. It's the sixth time in franchise history that Utah advanced to the conference finals, all coming under Sloan.
During the 2008-2009 season, Sloan reached 1,000 wins as coach of the Jazz on November 7 after Utah beat the Oklahoma City Thunder
Oklahoma City Thunder
The Oklahoma City Thunder are a professional basketball franchise based in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. They play in the Northwest Division of the Western Conference in the National Basketball Association ; their home court is at Chesapeake Energy Arena....
104–97 in a Friday night game. He is the only coach in NBA history with 1,000 wins for one team. Sloan returned as head coach of the Jazz for the 2009–10 season leading the team to a 53-29 record and the playoffs.
Mirroring his tenacity as a player, Sloan was just as fiery as a coach. He was suspended one game for pushing referee Bob Delaney
Bob Delaney (basketball referee)
Bob Delaney is a former police officer and is a professional basketball referee in the National Basketball Association from 1987-88 NBA season to 2010-11 NBA season. Beginning the 2006-07 NBA season, Delaney has officiated in 1,182 regular season games, 120 playoff games, and seven NBA Finals...
in April 1993. After a decade, Sloan was served a seven-game suspension in 2003 for pushing referee Courtney Kirkland in Sacramento.
In April 2009 Sloan was announced to the Basketball Hall of Fame, alongside his former point guard John Stockton
John Stockton
John Houston Stockton is a retired American professional basketball player who spent his entire career as a point guard for the Utah Jazz of the NBA from 1984 to 2003. Stockton is regarded as one of the best point guards of all time, holding the NBA records for most career assists and steals by...
.
Resignation
Sloan revealed on February 7, 2011 that he had earlier in the year signed a contract extension to coach the Jazz for the upcoming 2011–2012 season for what would have been his 24th season as head coach with the Jazz. However, on February 10, 2011 Sloan and assistant Phil JohnsonPhil Johnson (basketball)
Phil D. Johnson is a former College basketball player and a former basketball coach. He played college basketball at Utah State University and Weber State, and has coached collegiately at Weber State University....
resigned their positions effective immediately. Sloan downplayed reports that conflicts with players prompted his departure. "I've had confrontations with players since I've been in the league," Sloan said. "There's only so much energy left and my energy has dropped." KSL-TV
KSL-TV
KSL-TV, virtual channel 5, is an NBC-affiliated television station located in Salt Lake City, Utah, USA. KSL-TV is owned by Bonneville International Corporation, which is in turn owned by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints...
later asked Sloan whether reported conflicts with guard Deron Williams
Deron Williams
Deron Michael Williams , nicknamed D-Will, is an American basketball player currently with the New Jersey Nets of the National Basketball Association . Williams has also played for the Utah Jazz of the NBA and Beşiktaş of the Turkish Basketball League...
forced him to leave. "I forced myself out," Sloan responded. Williams acknowledge he had a disagreement with Sloan during the previous night's game, but he added, "I would never force coach Sloan out of Utah. He's meant more to this town, more to this organization than I have by far. I would have asked out of Utah first." Assistant coach Tyrone Corbin
Tyrone Corbin
Tyrone Kennedy Corbin is the head coach of the Utah Jazz in the National Basketball Association. He was installed as head coach on February 10, 2011 following the resignation of longtime coach Jerry Sloan....
was named as Sloan's replacement.
His last NBA game as Jazz head coach came against, coincidentally, the Chicago Bulls. The Jazz lost, 91-86, on February 9, in a game with various subplots such as former Jazz forward Carlos Boozer
Carlos Boozer
Carlos Austin Boozer, Jr. is an American professional basketball player with the Chicago Bulls of the National Basketball Association...
, now a Chicago Bull, revisiting his former club, and Sloan's long association with the Bulls as a player and coach.
Personal life
He married his high school sweetheart, Bobbye Sloan. After a well publicized six-year battle against breast cancerBreast cancer
Breast cancer is cancer originating from breast tissue, most commonly from the inner lining of milk ducts or the lobules that supply the ducts with milk. Cancers originating from ducts are known as ductal carcinomas; those originating from lobules are known as lobular carcinomas...
, she died of pancreatic cancer
Pancreatic cancer
Pancreatic cancer refers to a malignant neoplasm of the pancreas. The most common type of pancreatic cancer, accounting for 95% of these tumors is adenocarcinoma, which arises within the exocrine component of the pancreas. A minority arises from the islet cells and is classified as a...
in 2004. They had three children and were married 41 years. One of his sons, Brian
Brian Sloan
Brian Keith Sloan was a high school and college basketball player during the 1980s. Sloan, a high school center, led McLeansboro High School to an undefeated season in the 1984, Class A IHSA basketball championship. He averaged 20.5 points and 13.6 rebounds per game during the tournament...
, also played basketball for McLeansboro High School and was a member of its undefeated 1984 state championship team, and also played five seasons under Coach Bob Knight at Indiana University
Indiana University
Indiana University is a multi-campus public university system in the state of Indiana, United States. Indiana University has a combined student body of more than 100,000 students, including approximately 42,000 students enrolled at the Indiana University Bloomington campus and approximately 37,000...
, collecting an NCAA title in 1987.
In 2006 Jerry Sloan married Tammy Jessop, in Salt Lake City. Sloan has a stepson, Rhett as a result of his marriage to Jessop.
Sloan is known to wear John Deere
John Deere
John Deere was an American blacksmith and manufacturer who founded Deere & Company, one of the largest and leading agricultural and construction equipment manufacturers in the world...
hats and to collect and restore John Deere tractors as a hobby. After years of a self-confessed habit of drinking and smoking too much, he has since stopped both, although he has claimed that it never affected him or his coaching.
Head coaching record
|-| align="left" |CHI
Chicago Bulls
The Chicago Bulls are an American professional basketball team based in Chicago, Illinois, playing in the Central Division of the Eastern Conference in the National Basketball Association . The team was founded in 1966. They play their home games at the United Center...
| align="left" |
|82||30||52||.366|| align="center" |3rd in Midwest||—||—||—||—
| align="center" |Missed Playoffs
|-
| align="left" |CHI
| align="left" |
|82||45||37||.549|| align="center" |2nd in Central||6||2||4||.333
| align="center" |Lost in First Round
1981 NBA Playoffs
The 1981 NBA Playoffs was the postseason tournament which followed National Basketball Association's 1980–81 season. The tournament concluded with the Eastern Conference champion Boston Celtics winning their 14th overall championship by defeating the Western Conference champion Houston Rockets in...
|-
| align="left" |CHI
| align="left" |
|51||19||31||.373|| align="center" |(fired)||—||—||—||—
| align="center" |—
|-
| align="left" |UTA
Utah Jazz
The Utah Jazz is a professional basketball team based in Salt Lake City, Utah. They are currently a part of the Northwest Division of the Western Conference in the National Basketball Association...
| align="left" |
|65||40||25||.615|| align="center" |1st in Midwest||3||0||3||.000
| align="center" |Lost in First Round
1989 NBA Playoffs
The 1989 NBA Playoffs was the postseason tournament of the National Basketball Association's 1988-89 NBA season. The tournament concluded with the Eastern Conference champion Detroit Pistons defeating the Western Conference champion Los Angeles Lakers, who were severely hampered by injuries, four...
|-
| align="left" |UTA
| align="left" |
|82||55||27||.671|| align="center" |2nd in Midwest||5||2||3||.400
| align="center" |Lost in First Round
1990 NBA Playoffs
The 1990 NBA Playoffs was the postseason tournament of the National Basketball Association's 1989-1990 season. The tournament concluded with the Eastern Conference champion Detroit Pistons successfully defending their championship by beating the Western Conference champion Portland Trail Blazers...
|-
| align="left" |UTA
| align="left" |
|82||54||28||.659|| align="center" |2nd in Midwest||9||4||5||.444
| align="center" |Lost in Conf. Semifinals
1991 NBA Playoffs
The 1991 NBA Playoffs was the postseason tournament of the National Basketball Association's 1990–91 season. The tournament concluded with the Eastern Conference champion Chicago Bulls winning their first NBA championship via a four-games-to-one victory over the Western Conference champion Los...
|-
| align="left" |UTA
| align="left" |
|82||55||27||.671|| align="center" |1st in Midwest||16||9||7||.563
| align="center" |Lost in Conf. Finals
1992 NBA Playoffs
NBA Champions: Chicago BullsThe 1992 NBA Playoffs was the postseason tournament following the National Basketball Association's 1991-1992 season. The tournament concluded with the Eastern Conference champion Chicago Bulls winning their second consecutive NBA championship by defeating the Western...
|-
| align="left" |UTA
| align="left" |
|82||47||35||.573|| align="center" |3rd in Midwest||5||2||3||.400
| align="center" |Lost in First Round
1993 NBA Playoffs
The 1993 NBA Playoffs was the postseason tournament of the National Basketball Association's 1992-1993 season. The tournament concluded with the Eastern Conference champion Chicago Bulls winning their third consecutive championship by defeating the Western Conference champion Phoenix Suns four...
|-
| align="left" |UTA
| align="left" |
|82||53||29||.646|| align="center" |3rd in Midwest||16||8||8||.500
| align="center" |Lost in Conf. Finals
1994 NBA Playoffs
The 1994 NBA Playoffs was the postseason tournament of the National Basketball Association's 1993-94 season. The tournament concluded with the Western Conference champion Houston Rockets defeating the Eastern Conference champion New York Knicks 4 games to 3 in the NBA Finals...
|-
| align="left" |UTA
| align="left" |
||82||60||22||.732|| align="center" |2nd in Midwest||5||2||3||.400
| align="center" |Lost in First Round
1995 NBA Playoffs
The 1995 NBA Playoffs was the postseason tournament of the National Basketball Association's 1994-1995 season. The tournament concluded with the Western Conference champion Houston Rockets winning their second consecutive NBA championship by defeating the Eastern Conference champion Orlando Magic...
|-
| align="left" |UTA
| align="left" |
|82||55||27||.671|| align="center" |2nd in Midwest||18||10||8||.556
| align="center" |Lost in Conf. Finals
1996 NBA Playoffs
The 1996 NBA Playoffs was the postseason tournament of the National Basketball Association's 1995-1996 season. The tournament concluded with the Eastern Conference champion Chicago Bulls winning their first NBA championship in three years by defeating the Western Conference champion Seattle...
|-
| align="left" |UTA
| align="left" |
|82||64||18||.780|| align="center" |1st in Midwest||20||13||7||.650
| align="center" |Lost in NBA Finals
1997 NBA Finals
The 1997 NBA Finals was the concluding series of the 1997 NBA Playoffs that determined the champion of the 1996–97 NBA season. The Utah Jazz of the Western Conference took on the Chicago Bulls of the Eastern Conference for the title, with the Bulls holding home court advantage...
|-
| align="left" |UTA
| align="left" |
|82||62||20||.756|| align="center" |1st in Midwest||20||13||7||.650
| align="center" |Lost in NBA Finals
1998 NBA Finals
The 1998 NBA Finals was the championship round of the 1997-98 National Basketball Association season. The Chicago Bulls of the Eastern Conference played against the Utah Jazz of the Western Conference, with the Jazz holding home-court advantage with the first 2 games in Salt Lake City...
|-
| align="left" |UTA
| align="left" |
|50||37||13||.740|| align="center" |2nd in Midwest||11||5||6||.455
| align="center" |Lost in Conf. Semifinals
1999 NBA Playoffs
The 1999 NBA Playoffs was the postseason tournament of the National Basketball Association's 1998-99 season. The tournament concluded with the Western Conference champion San Antonio Spurs by defeating the eighth-seeded Eastern Conference champion New York Knicks four games to one...
|-
| align="left" |UTA
| align="left" |
|82||55||27||.671|| align="center" |3rd in Midwest||10||4||6||.400
| align="center" |Lost in Conf. Semifinals
2000 NBA Playoffs
The 2000 NBA Playoffs was the postseason tournament of the National Basketball Association's 1999–2000 season. The tournament concluded with the Western Conference champion Los Angeles Lakers win their first championship in twelve years by defeating the Eastern Conference champion Indiana Pacers...
|-
| align="left" |UTA
| align="left" |
|82||53||29||.646|| align="center" |3rd in Midwest||5||2||3||.400
| align="center" |Lost in First Round
2001 NBA Playoffs
The 2001 NBA Playoffs was the postseason tournament of the National Basketball Association's 2000–01 season. The tournament concluded with the Western Conference champion Los Angeles Lakers winning their second consecutive championship by defeating the Eastern Conference champion Philadelphia 76ers...
|-
| align="left" |UTA
| align="left" |
|82||44||38||.537|| align="center" |4th in Midwest||4||1||3||.250
| align="center" |Lost in First Round
2002 NBA Playoffs
The 2002 NBA Playoffs were the postseason tournament of the National Basketball Association's 2001–02 season. This would be the final postseason that held a best-of-5 first-round series; next year's postseason would see those series expanded to a best-of-7 format...
|-
| align="left" |UTA
| align="left" |
|82||47||35||.573|| align="center" |4th in Midwest||5||1||4||.200
| align="center" |Lost in First Round
2003 NBA Playoffs
The 2003 NBA playoffs was the postseason of the National Basketball Association's 2002-03 NBA season. This postseason was notable for being the first time all series were conducted in a best-of-7 format. It was also the only time in playoff history that no team was swept in a first-round series....
|-
| align="left" |UTA
| align="left" |
|82||42||40||.512|| align="center" |7th in Midwest||—||—||—||—
| align="center" |Missed Playoffs
|-
| align="left" |UTA
| align="left" |
|82||26||56||.317|| align="center" |5th in Northwest||—||—||—||—
| align="center" |Missed Playoffs
|-
| align="left" |UTA
| align="left" |
|82||41||41||.500|| align="center" |2nd in Northwest||—||—||—||—
| align="center" |Missed Playoffs
|-
| align="left" |UTA
| align="left" |
|82||51||31||.621|| align="center" |1st in Northwest||17||9||8||.529
| align="center" |Lost in Conf. Finals
2007 NBA Playoffs
The 2007 NBA Playoffs was the postseason to the National Basketball Association's 2006–2007 season.There were four rounds of postseason action, all of them in a best-of-seven format, with teams seeded on a bracket. The team with the better record wasn't necessarily the basis of seeding teams in...
|-
| align="left" |UTA
| align="left" |
|82||54||28||.659|| align="center" |1st in Northwest||12||6||6||.500
| align="center" |Lost in Conf. Semifinals
2008 NBA Playoffs
The 2008 NBA Playoffs was the postseason for the National Basketball Association's 2007–08 season which ended with the Eastern Conference champion Boston Celtics defeating the Western Conference champion Los Angeles Lakers 4–2....
|-
| align="left" |UTA
| align="left" |
|82||48||34||.585|| align="center" |3rd in Northwest||5||1||4||.200
| align="center" |Lost in First Round
2009 NBA Playoffs
The 2009 NBA Playoffs was the postseason for the National Basketball Association's 2008–09 season. The playoffs started on April 18, 2009 with ABC, ESPN, TNT, and NBA TV broadcasting the games in the United States...
|-
| align="left" |UTA
| align="left" |
|82||53||29||.646|| align="center" |1st in Northwest||10||4||6||.400
| align="center" |Lost in Conf. Semifinals
2010 NBA Playoffs
The 2010 NBA Playoffs was the postseason for the National Basketball Association's 2009–10 season. The playoffs started on April 17, 2010 with ABC, ESPN, ESPN2, TNT, and NBA TV broadcasting the games in the United States...
|-
| align="left" |UTA
| align="left" |
|54||31||23||.574|| align="center" |(resigned)||—||—||—||—
| align="center" |—
|-class="sortbottom"
| align="left" |Career
| ||2024||1221||803||.603|| ||202||98||104||.485
Quotes
"These guys have been criticized the last few years for not getting to where we're going, but I've always said that the most important thing in sports is to keep trying. Let this be an example of what it means to say it's never over." –after the Utah Jazz defeated the Houston Rockets in Game 6 of the 1997 Western Conference Finals."I don't care if he's 19 or 30. If he's going to be on the floor in the NBA, he's got to be able to step up and get after it. We can't put diapers on him one night, and a jockstrap the next night. It's just the way it is." –on second year guard C.J. Miles, the youngest player on the 2006–07 Utah Jazz.
After Stockton had injured his finger during a game, Jerry was asked what finger Stockton injured. Jerry replied, "The one on his hand."
"Size doesn't make any difference; heart is what makes a difference."