The only legitimate criticism of Jerry is that he hasn’t won an NBA championship. Twice John Stockton and Karl Malone took him to the NBA Finals, but twice they lost to Michael Jordan’s Bulls.
Immediately following these and, it seems, every season, local sports media outlets float the idea fart that it might be time for the Utah Jazz to find a new coach. Every season it smells just as bad as the offseason before. And every autumn Sloan returns to coach the Jazz, usually leading them deeper into the playoffs than anyone expects.
Jerry believes, as most people do, that his successes in life are due to his unique life experiences and he works daily to pass this knowledge to his players.
This season, Utah may have the finest collection of highly regarded individual athletes the Jazz have ever assembled; the question is whether they can be lead by a coach with the exact opposite background, values, coaching philosophies and personality, to an NBA title.
Sloan has built a life and legend on being the lunch bucket carrying coach who isn’t interested in acceptance or driven by accolades. As much as actually winning an NBA title would mean to the fans, franchise, players, and city, it would require an entire re-write of the theme of Jerry’s existence.
His life’s circumstances have shaped him positively into a man that all men wish they were.
Clint Eastwood plays this man in the movies.
There is usually redemption in the end for the protagonist in a well written movie.
Real life may not be so kind to Coach Sloan.
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