Its been a little over a week since the shocking departure of the legendary Jerry Sloan. I actually remember very vividly when he became the coach. I was in my type class, yes with a real typewriter--no handy backspace key, it was just after lunch when Matt Davies who was sitting next to me gave me the news that Layden had quit and Jerry Sloan was now the head coach. I was in the 9th grade.
Last week I was in a 9th grade class, albeit my own, and received a few texts and emails about it. Have to say that I was floored. Still kinda am. 23 years is a real long time. But I didn't think he would leave so abruptly.
So here are my thoughts. First off this never should have gone down like this. Jerry deserved to leave at the end of the season. Not in the middle. Granted he is the one who called it quits, it just isn't the way it should have happened.
Secondly, we all wondered out loud at times how long Sloan would go. Well we got our answer. He is nearly 69, 23 years is a long time to coach. It is more stressful and draining than people know. At the end of the day all anyone cares is whether you won or lost. That's stressful. I'm sure part of this was just not wanting to deal with the stress anymore.
Thirdly, the Deron factor. Since I am no longer privy to the locker room I don't have the inside scoop. But let's face it Deron isn't the best leader. He complains and sulks too much. I have noticed for a few years, but it seems everyone else is catching on to his act. He will complain about toughness and running plays and then not live up to his own complaints. Hypocrite? Sometimes. Whiner? Yes. Leader? Well yes but not a good one. Players want someone to believe in, someone to trust, someone that will get dirty when he needs to. Not someone who will point the finger in a loss. I am certain his antics wore on Sloan. Is Deron the sole reason Jerry quit? No, but he certainly is A reason. In a year we may not mind if he walks away. All the best point guard talk is gone. I rank him behind Rose, Paul, Nash, Westbrook, and Rondo. I would take all of them, yes even an old Nash, over him. Can't stand moody, sulky players.
Finally, I really like Jerry. I like that he NEVER EVER made excuses when the team lost. He never blamed refs. He never blamed injuries on team performance. He expected his team to play hard ALL the time. He developed a great offense. He definitely has the respect of other coaches and players...even if his own aren't as grateful as they should be. I will say his language was abrasive, more so than you could ever know. I will just leave it at that.
When I worked for the Jazz he was always nice and even kind. His brusque on court behavior was never a problem before or after the game. He was the coach during the game, but before and after he was Jerry. Back in the day he used to smoke in this closet like room in the locker room. I was glad for him when he finally kicked the habit. He was always courteous and cheerful to me. In fact he even hugged me on a few occasions. (Thought about leaving that last sentence out. Decided it showed his human side, albeit it is a weird sentence)
One of my favorite Jerry moments was him stating that Ostertag needed to decide if he wanted to be the Jazz bear or a player on the team. Greg was notorious for watching the bear during time outs instead of paying attention. A few times Sloan was going to put him in the game during a time out but he was too busy watching the bear, so he didn't.
I was in the locker room after game 1 of the '98 finals. We won that game. Jerry told the team how proud he was of them. He said that he knew they could play with the Bulls and beat them, he was proud of them for believing and then doing it. He even got a little emotional. He was inspiring. It was my favorite Jerry coaching moment.
Alas, he is the last tie to that team. John and Karl are gone, Larry is too. Jerry was that last piece. Perhaps that is why so many Jazz fans are upset over this; he is the last remnant of the best Jazz memories.
