Coaches never really seem to retire. Even when they say they’re done coaching, teams will still be offering jobs, at least to the good ones. Former Utah Jazz head coach Jerry Sloan is definitely one of the good ones. Sloan retired last year after 23 years with the Jazz. The 70-year-old is the NBA’s third-winningest coach all time, and it looks like he may want to add a few more wins to his total.
Sloan did an interview with Sports Illustrated where he says his energy is back and he feels as good as he did three years ago before he had his knee replaced.
So if Sloan did want to come back, where will he end up? He’s interviewing with the Charlotte Bobcats today. After posting the worst record in NBA history, the Bobcats would be lucky to land a coach like Jerry Sloan, but the rumors are that they might be looking at Patrick Ewing to take the job. Ewing has been an assistant coach for 9 seasons and says he wants to be a head coach. Being close friends with Bobcats owner Michael Jordan might put him on the inside track to accomplishing that goal.
Even if Sloan doesn’t get the job in Charlotte, there are other ones out there as well. Sloan has been mentioned as a candidate to replace Stan Van Gundy in Orlando and there’s also an opening in Portland after the Trail Blazers fired coach Nate McMillan. Sloan says he’s open to any opportunities, but nothing is set in stone yet.
“A lot of this is all speculation, and I don’t like to deal with it that way,” said Sloan. “People call and say, ‘Well, your name might be mentioned.’ Well, it might be, but I have nothing to do with that. I don’t have someone putting my name out there, and I’m not putting it out there. I guess they throw enough mud on the wall, but some of it fell off.”
If Sloan really wants to come back, I can’t imagine him not getting any offer he wants. He’s one of the greatest coaches of all time. If he were to get the job in Charlotte though, I hope he has some sort of miracle quick fix. If he wants to have the most wins all time, and he gets 7 wins a year with the Bobcats, he’ll be stuck coaching for 16 more years.
