Jerry Sloan and the Biggest Breakups In Sports History
Sports are just like relationships. Sometimes they are love affairs for the ages and other times they are doomed from the start. Then there are the Jerry Sloan moments. Where things seem perfect until one event, one wrong move, ruins the relationship forever. For Sloan that came thanks to Deron Williams.
But Sloan should not feel alone. While his breakup is the hot item now, it's not the first, and it won't be the last breakup we've seen in sports. Throughout the years there has been plenty of highly publicized breakups, here's a look at the top 30.
Honorable Mention: Bill Walsh and Joe Montana
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Two guys who had the success Montana and Walsh had together shouldn't be fighting but when Walsh got eyes for another QB, that's when things went icy.
Steve Young was brought in to be the heir apparent to Montana, and Montana didn't pay any mind until Montana was benched for Young during a 1987 playoff loss to the Vikings.
The bitterness continued in 1988 when Montana's iffy health pushed Walsh to use him and Young. Montana would stick around the Bay Area for many more years, but things would never be the same.
Honorable Mention: Duane Thomas and Tom Landry
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The Cowboys coach was beloved by almost everyone except Duane Thomas. The star running back was a bit of a headcase back in the day...to say the least. He was often very confrontational with the media or, when he wasn't that, he was often standoff-ish with them.
However, in 1971 he waged his own war on Landry and his coaching staff by refusing to speak with them. He publicly spoke of Landry as “a plastic man...actually no man at all.” Regardless of the animosity, it didn't affect their play on the field. Landry and Thomas led the Dallas Cowboys to a Super Bowl win, but it was the final straw in the relationship between Thomas and Landry.
30. Ozzie Guillen and Magglio Ordonez
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This feud didn't heat up until Magglio Ordonez left the Chicago White Sox to sign with the Detroit Tigers. Ordonez made some passing comments about how Ozzie had negatively impacted his contract negotiations with the White Sox.
When Ozzie got hold of this information, what the world got was Ozzie's angriest rant, which says a lot when you consider that it's Ozzie Guillen. He referred to Magglio as a “Venezuelen piece of {expletive}”.
The two later made up, but with Ozzie, no feud is ever dead.
29. Lou Piniella and Rob Dibble
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If anyone thought Pinella was a snore with the Cubs, they must have been comparing him to the Lou Piniella that won a World Series with the Cincinnati Reds in the early 90s.
Piniella's temper got the best of him when Lou reportedly told the media that pitcher Rob Dibble had a bad shoulder. The two hot-tempered men ended up exchanging words until it turned in to a full-blown physical altercation.
28. Shaq and Stan Van Gundy
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Shaq, as loveable as he is, is never one to shy away from stirring up the pot. As a member of the Miami Heat, he saw success under Stan Van Gundy. While the Heat never made the Finals, they were close the year before Van Gundy was fired and replaced by Pat Riley.
While Shaq never made much of his relationship with Stan during his time in Miami, he has since revealed that it was less than respectful. He had referred to Van Gundy as “the master of panic,” and a “nobody.” Guess who's not getting a Van Gundy family Christmas card.
27. Jay Cutler and Josh McDaniels
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Jay Cutler was supposed to be the golden arm that was going to move the Broncos into the future. However, once head coach Mike Shanahan was given his walking papers, everything changed.
Enter Josh McDaniels, a head coach from the New England coaching tree and a guy with a couple of different ideas. One was to trade for former New England Patriots quarterback Matt Cassel. The trade never went through, but word leaked and Cutler was not happy.
Cutler demanded a trade, then despite speculation that the feud between the two could be patched up, Cutler was traded to Chicago before the start of the next season.
26. Jim Palmer and Earl Weaver
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While Jim Palmer and Earl Weaver were never friends, they always seemed to be soothed by their winning ways. But make no mistake. Neither of these gentleman thought highly of the other. Weaver thought Palmer was a pretty boy for the Jockey underwear ads that he did. And Palmer thought that Weaver was clueless on how to handle a pitching staff.
Of course three Cy Youngs for Palmer and three World Series for Weaver proved that both of them had a firm grasp on how to win. Their breakup happened early, and they learned to co-exist for the sake of the team.
25. Deron Williams and Jerry Sloan
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Jerry Sloan knows a thing or two about basketball as evidenced by his 1,221 wins. So when Deron Williams changed the offensive play on the court, Sloan felt he had a right to be mad.
In the Wednesday night loss to the Bulls, superstar point guard Williams called a play different from what Sloan called. This prompted an emotional altercation at halftime and Sloan's resignation the next day. Reports indicate that it wasn't the first altercation between the two, but now it will be known as the last.
24. Lou Pinella and Milton Bradley
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Many Chicago fans thought bringing a fiery personality like Bradley to the North Side was a dangerous idea because of the intense media in Chicago. However, they neglected to think about what it would do for the Cubs often hot-tempered manager Lou Piniella.
In 2009, after a series against the Chicago White Sox at U.S Cellular Field, Bradley threw his helmet and tossed a Gatorade cooler after a bad at-bat. This coupled with Bradley's poor play and attitude prompted Piniella to send Bradley home claiming he was a “piece of (expletive)."
The two later downplayed the incident, but it was just the beginning of many incidents that Bradley would have in Chicago.
23. Terry Bradshaw and Chuck Noll
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How do you win four Super Bowls and not get along? Perhaps it's because while there were those critics out there who felt that Terry Bradshaw wasn't the brightest star in the sky, there may have been no bigger believer of that than Chuck Noll.
For the first four seasons that Bradshaw wore the yellow and black, he rode the bench because Noll thought he wasn't smart enough to grasp the offense.
But as Bradshaw once told Hollywood Henderson, he was smart enough to spell “touchdown.” Still, their relationship could never be repaired. Four-and-a-half years of disrespect was too much for Bradshaw to take.
22. Billy Martin and Reggie Jackson
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Billy Martin never met a confrontation he didn't willingly accept. It's the path you must take to be fired by George Steinbrenner several times, but barking up the tree of Reggie Jackson was a whole different story.
While these two had their fair share of flair ups, things were taken to another level when a nationally televised game in 1977 resulted in Martin having to be restrained. Martin got on Jackson's case about not hustling and Jackson didn't take kindly to it. Their public outburst would not just be the final straw for their relationship, but it would eventually lead to Billy Martin's being fired as head coach of the Yankees.
21. Dick Butkus and The Chicago Bears
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The game's best known linebacker couldn't have had an icier relationship with his former team than Butkus had with the Bears. After his playing days in Chicago were over, Butkus filed a lawsuit against the Bears doctors for shooting him up with painkillers so he could play. Butkus said the damage caused to his knee was severe (a habit not uncommon for the NFL in those days).
The Bears responded in kind by waiting nearly 30 years to honor Butkus by having his jersey retired.
20. Brett Favre and Brad Childress
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Brad Childress was the entire reason that Brett wanted to come to Minnesota. His understanding of Childress' offensive system led the Vikings to an almost perfect marriage in their first season. But as injuries mounted, so did the tension between Brett and Brad. Brett began to question the play calling while Brad began to make jokes to the media about Brett's need to be coddled.
It was only a matter of time before the situation came to a head, and it was Childress who was left out in the cold.
19. Barry Bonds and Jim Leyland
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When you have a hot-tempered coach and a egomaniac star player, you are likely to come to blows, and that's exactly what happened when Jim Leyland and Barry Bonds exchanged words after Bonds mocked one of the Pirates coaches.
It makes sense because it's hard to imagine a world where anyone could actually like Barry Bonds. Not too long after that incident, both Bonds and Leyland were out of Pittsburgh.
18. Allen Iverson and Larry Brown
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It was the rant heard round the world, and Larry Brown prompted it.
Allen Iverson always played hard on the court. He figured this excused him from having to play hard in practice. Larry Brown, then the Philadelphia 76ers head coach, never saw it that way. When Larry Brown openly criticized Iverson for missing team practices, Iverson had a rant for the ages. His “practice” rant will live in press conference history. Brown would only coach one more season in Philadelphia.
17. Buddy Ryan and Mike Ditka
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They were the power couple of the NFL. It was the melding of a great head coach and a great defensive coordinator that made the 1985 Bears into such a special team. However, neither of these two men could find a way to get along.
When the Bears had a vacancy in 1981, there was long thought given to Buddy Ryan, but Mike Ditka was brought in and the two never got along after that. Both men wanted a share of the credit for the Bears success when they both deserved it. Buddy took the first head coaching job he could with the Eagles in 1986 and bolted the Windy City.
16. Mike Shanahan and Donovan McNabb
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When the Redskins got Donovan McNabb from the Philadelphia Eagles, Mike Shanahan was most excited. However, as the season wore on the two seemed to have their differences.
When the Redskins entered the final two minutes of a winnable game against Detroit, the coach benched McNabb for backup Rex Grossman. Later, Shanahan would reveal that he felt McNabb wasn't in the peak physical condition required to execute their two minute offense.
15. Keyshawn Johnson and Jon Gruden
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When you are winning, the way the Tampa Bay Buccaneers did in 2002, everyone is happy, but when the defending Super Bowl champs started off 4-6, things got a little uglier.
Keyshawn told Gruden that he'd rather retire than play for him another season. While Keyshawn promised that he would not become a distraction, Gruden felt like Keyshawn did and deactivated the wide receiver for the remaining six games, but still paid him for it.
14. Jeff Fisher and Vince Young
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Jeff Fisher isn't one to call out a player, but he felt he had to do so with Vince Young. While Young was supremely talented, he didn't seem to want to devote the time to studying game film. It wasn't until Jeff Fisher not only admitted it publicly, but then benched Young for poor play, that the feud hit another level.
Young threw his jersey and pads into the stands and afterwards walked out on a team meeting. By the end of the season, Fisher stepped down from his position and Young was put on the trading block.
13. Manny Ramirez and The Boston Red Sox
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Few breakups have gone as poorly as Manny's exit from Beantown. Manny Ramirez was always embraced by the Boston faithful, but before he was traded to Los Angeles, it was clear that Manny wanted out of that relationship.
Manny removed himself from the lineup and eventually removed himself from ever playing in Boston again. He went from loved to hated in a matter of months and Manny Being Manny had become characterized as quitting on the team.
12. Frank Thomas and The Chicago White Sox
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After Frank Thomas spent the latter half of the White Sox 2005 World Series campaign on the disabled list, he was given his walking papers by the organization in favor of Jim Thome. Thomas, never one to shy away from his thoughts, spoke out about his hurt over the way he was treated at the end of his White Sox run.
Kenny Williams was less than thrilled that Thomas was talking out of turn. He ripped Thomas in the press saying: “He's an idiot. He's selfish. That's why we don't miss him.” Williams even made mention of the organization loaning Thomas money.
The two sides later cleared up their relationship, but wounds like that take time to heal.
11. Magic Johnson and Paul Westhead
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Magic Johnson and Paul Westhead got along just fine when they won the NBA Championship in 1980, but when things started to take a turn for the worse, Magic, who was unhappy with the offensive direction, told owner Jerry Buss that it was him or Westhead. While Westhead had served the Lakers well, Buss had an easy decision and fired Westhead half way through the 1981-82 season.
Magic went on to win another four NBA titles while Westhead went on to not like Magic Johnson.
10. Mike Leach and Texas Tech
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Call it old school medicine or just plain old-fashioned punishment but Mike Leach, the former coach of Texas Tech, has his practices for dealing with concussed players.
After Adam James suffered a concussion late in the season, he was told not to practice. Leach, who had been quoted as saying he wouldn't play James more because he was “lazy,” made him sit in a pitch-black shed for the entirety of practice.
Leach looked as if he would keep his job, but he refused to apologize and that forced Texas Tech's hand.
9. Terrell Owens and The Philadelphia Eagles
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Terrell Owens wouldn't know what to do with himself if he weren't in the middle of a controversy. However, his biggest controversy came after the Eagles 2004 Super Bowl run.
When Owens began sitting out for a new deal the Eagles told him he wouldn't get, things began to get heated with him and head coach Andy Reid. He was thrown out of practice, suspended for a week, then later on suspended for the rest of the season.
And we couldn't go four seconds without hearing all about it.
8. John Elway and Dan Reeves
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Dan Reeves and John Elway made it to three Super Bowls together, but it wasn't because they were best buddies. The reality was that Elway and Reeves never got along. The idea was that Elway never appreciated Reeves' short passing attack because it took away from his best asset: his cannon arm.
Elway was viewed by Reeves as defiant and difficult at times.
Eventually Reeves was pushed out in favor of Mike Shanahan, Elway's friend. However, the two would meet again in the Super Bowl when the Denver Broncos would beat Dan Reeves' Atlanta Falcons on his way to his second Super Bowl title.
7. Mike Shanahan and Albert Haynesworth
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Washington was excited about Mike Shanahan coming to coach the Redskins. Albert Haynesworth wasn't quite feeling that way. Unhappy that Shanahan was moving to the 3-4 defense, Haynesworth demanded a trade.
When he found no takers, he refused to show up to camp. When he did, Shanahan made him go through a conditioning test before he could begin practicing. Haynesworth, not being the most physically fit athlete, failed it several times over the course of the week before being able to practice.
As the season wore on, things didn't get any better and Hayneworth eventually sat for the rest of the season.
6. Brett Favre and Ted Thompson
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Brett Favre had cried wolf one too many times for Ted Thompson and the Green Bay Packers. Only weeks after the Packers fell short of the Super Bowl did Brett Favre announce his retirement, and the Packers handed the keys to the franchise over to Aaron Rodgers.
Only months later, as the ground thawed and the grass grew, did Favre get the itch to come back. But this time the Packers didn't want him back. They kicked him to the curb and shipped him to New York City. Brett spent a year in New York and then two more in Minnesota, only to sully his relationship with the Packers and their fans forever.
5. Bobby Petrino and The Atlanta Falcons
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The bond between a coach and his players is supposed to be strong...unless you're Bobby Petrino. Then it's only as special as you are successful.
Petrino was supposed to reinvent the Falcons offense under Michael Vick, but dog charges led to a Vick-less team. Petrino almost made it a full season, but when he was offered the Arkansas job with a few weeks left in the Falcons season, he bolted without so much as a word to his team.
His team was considerably mad and hates him to this very day.
4. Jimmy Johnson and Jerry Jones(Tie)
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When you build one of the most talented teams in NFL history, it should be a happy time. However, when you are two of the most egotistical men on the planet, that can get a little difficult.
When Jerry Jones hired Jimmy Johnson, he wanted to win, but he also wanted the credit for the success of the team. When the Dallas Cowboys won consecutive rings, it was Jimmy Johnson who was getting all the credit and it was Johnson who declined to coach in Dallas anymore due to the fact that he couldn't work with Jerry Jones.
Neither man has been able to capture that kind of success since.
4. LeBron James and Dan Gilbert, The City Of Cleveland(Tie)
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This was supposed to be the marriage that would last forever. After all, what better union could there be than the leagues best player playing for his hometown team?
For seven seasons LeBron James played for the Cavaliers and made them not just one of the best teams in the league, but also one of the most profitable. Then as his free agency loomed there were few who thought he would bolt Cleveland, least of all Dan Gilbert who had made every concession for LeBron and his entourage during his time as a Cavalier.
However, on ESPN LeBron left Cleveland to head to South Beach. His decision prompted an angry letter that called LeBron out for being a traitor and vowed the Cavaliers would win a championship before Miami ever would.
Since that time it's been a feud filled with bitterness and jabs, but it's Cleveland who has suffered the most. Since losing LeBron they have not only become one of the NBA's worst teams but have also lost 26% of their value.
3. The Chicago Bulls and The Organization
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The Bulls had won six rings in eight years, but who was responsible for the Bulls good fortune is a whole other story. Jerry Krause, the Bulls general manager, famously said that “organizations win championships,” but Phil Jackson, Michael Jordan and Scottie Pippen all had a different idea about who was responsible.
So after the 1998 season, the Bulls were in a perfect opportunity to try for a four peat with a strike-shortened season, but Krause declined to re-sign Phil Jackson and thus the Chicago Bulls dynasty was over. For the record: the Bulls “organization” hasn't won a championship since.
2. PJ Carlesimo and Latrell Sprewell
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You can say a lot to Latrell Sprewell, just don't insult his passing.
During a routine practice, Sprewell was yelled at by Golden State Warriors head coach PJ Carlesimo to “make crisper passes.” Sprewell warned the coach he wasn't in the mood for criticism no matter how constructive it was. Carlesimo approached Sprewell only to be seperated by teammates after Sprewell began choking him.
Upon Sprewell's arrival back to practice 20 minutes later, he greeted his coach with a punch to the face and was escorted out again. Sadly, this was the beginning of the end for Spreewell's career, and his reputation.
1. Shaq and Kobe
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Phil Jackson got what he needed out of Kobe and Shaq for a while. He got them to play the Batman and Robin role that Michael Jordan and Scottie Pippen played so well together in Chicago. On the surface it seemed to work fine, but there were cracks in the foundation from the beginning. O'Neal wanted the offense to be run through him, while Bryant wanted the offense to run through him.
The truth is that it worked best with Shaq as the main target, but that proved to not matter at all as the private feud grew public and the Lakers were forced to choose. They chose age over size and stuck with Bryant. And the rest, they say, is history.
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