Larry Brown Says Gregg Popovich Nearly Retired After November Heart Surgery

San Antonio Spurs head coach Gregg Popovich has indicated that his career is far from over, but health issues may have given the five-time NBA champion some pause last season.

According to Buck Harvey of the San Antonio Express-News (h/t Kurt Helin of Pro Basketball Talk), Popovich's friend and Southern Methodist University head coach Larry Brown revealed the three-time NBA Coach of the Year considered retirement after undergoing heart surgery in November:

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His hip surgery had gone well, but there was a hiccup with a heart condition that was not unlike the atrial fibrillation that (former Spurs center) Fab Oberto had. Popovich underwent a procedure, and, after he had done everything the doctors had asked, palpitations returned.

Brown says the episode occurred during the preseason tour in Europe. That eventually culminated with Popovich missing two games in late November for a second procedure.

'I really believe he was close to retiring then,' Brown said.

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While Brown's comments may have merit, ESPN.com's Marc Stein recently reported the 66-year-old head coach now has no intention of retiring until his contract expires in 2019, and San Antonio's success in free agency has much to do with that:

Popovich previously expressed to the San Antonio Express-News (h/t Fox Sports) a willingness to retire at the same time as future Hall of Fame big man Tim Duncan, and while that no longer seems likely, he did show trepidation in February with regard to coaching out his entire contract, per Sam Amick of USA Today:

"It's a five-year contract, but the chances of staying for five years I don't think are very good," Popovich said.

There is a great deal of uncertainty regarding Popovich's future due to his seemingly evolving stance on retirement, but he'll coach the Spurs in 2015-16 at the very least as he goes for a sixth NBA title behind Duncan, LaMarcus Aldridge, Tony Parker, Manu Ginobili, Kawhi Leonard and others.

Popovich is a huge reason why the Spurs have gone from an also-ran organization to arguably the model franchise in all of sports.

Replacing him will be a hugely difficult endeavor when he ultimately does decide to hang up the clipboard, but Spurs fans can rest assured for now despite Brown's surprising revelation.

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