I know this blog is for all things Clippers, but I know if I didn’t pay attention to the retirement of one of the greatest coaches in ANY sport, then I’d need to be slapped. I was at work when the news broke; in the midst of the Utah Jazz’s struggle of a season (They’ve been such a superlative franchise for most of the last 22+ years at the helm that 31-23 and 6th in the West is considered a down year), coach Jerry Sloan has decided to pack up his clipboard and make early vacation plans. After over 22 years, after driving the Mailman/Stockton Express to as near the pinnacle as possible, and wringing every last ounce of potential out of some pretty average NBAers on his way to 1,096 victories in Utah (that’s about 50 wins a season – OUTSTANDING), there are countless theories about why “The Original Bull” would pull up stakes so abruptly. Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports reported on a Deron Williams/Sloan dust-up on Wednesday, and rumors are that D Will pulled a “him-or-me” stunt on the Jazz (I don’t believe that). I personally loved Jerry Sloan as a coach, but there are rumbles about him alienating and clashing with other prominent members of his squad. So how did I find out about Soan’s stepping down? Twitter did it. What else do the denizens of Twitter have to say about Coach Sloan’s retirement?
Some people are reverent:
@ESPNStatsInfo
"“From Elias: Jerry Sloan has been the head coach of the Jazz to since Dec. 9, ’88. 40 current NBA players weren’t BORN yet at that time.”"
@MadelynBurke
"“Since Sloan entered the league as a head coach (note: he actually coached the Chicago Bulls from ’79-’82), there have been 245 coaching changes and 5 franchises added to the NBA“"
@Hawksvoice
"“Wow, sad to see Jerry Sloan hang it up. One of our game’s greatest people. Always put team first. We could use more like him in the NBA.”"
@Dragonflyjonez
"“Jerry Sloan had two consecutive s Finals appearances. And he woulda had two rings if not for that meddling Michael Jordan.”"
@connie1130
"“Every good thing has to come to an end. It’s an end of a good era. Hopefully the new coach Ty Corbin can fill Coach Sloan’s shoes.”"
There’s also ALOT of speculation, misinformation and opinions about the friction with Deron leading to Sloan’s exit:
@tribjazz
"“Multiple sources say Williams and Sloan had gotten into at least three blowups this season”"
@HoopPlusTheHarm
"“This reaffirms my negative view of Deron. Congrats!”"
@MickBoogie
“deron williams will never be able to live down shoving jerry sloan out the door. pathetic. with that, i continue to say #goceltics“
@NotWaltFraszier
"“Final straw in Sloan/Williams spat was coach’s insistence on calling #8 “DeRON”. His mispronouncin’ led to his trouncin’!”"
KneeJerkNBA
"“Nobody should point fingers at Deron Williams. You try winning without anyone protecting the basket.”"
Um, the defense of the Jazz isn’t very good, but Al Jefferson IS 8th in the league with about 2 block a game. And of course, alot of folks brought the levity out:
@classickmaterial
"“Jerry Sloan been coaching so long, bet he still looks at game film on VHS.”"
@russbengtson
"“Presumably, Jerry Sloan will come to the next Jazz practice and choke Deron Williams out #sprewelled“"
@1000sSteps -” So Long Melo rumors… Hello D Will to Lakers rumors!” @TheBigLead – “I’ll raise you a Deron-Amare-Dwight Howard Knicks lineup in Oct 2012”
@ESPNLandOLakers
"“Now is not the time to be caught walking without permission on Jerry Sloan’s lawn.”"
@TheNoLookPass
"“I want Jerry Sloan to move to my neighborhood and start yelling at me. My life would be totally complete.”"
@treykerby
"“Jerry Sloan heard the White Stripes broke up and didn’t see the point anymore.”"
@freemaneric
"“The skateboarders in Jerry Sloan’s neighborhood are the real losers here.”"
Bottom line is, the league is watching maybe the last authentic tough-as-nails coach stroll off into his well deserved sunset. It’s a travesty that Jerry Sloan never won a Coach Of The Year award. I guess it doesn’t matter, though, his resume’ and the lasting impression he’s left on so many make him one of the best coaches the NBA has ever seen; a yearly award isn’t good enough for such a one-of-a-kind leader of men.