Jerry Sloan Resigns: Where Does He Rank Among the Greatest NBA Coaches?

Jerry Sloan abruptly resigned as head coach of the Utah Jazz on Thursday after a 23-year Hall of Fame career with the club. 

The sudden nature of his departure is stunning, especially when considering just a few days ago he'd signed an extension to remain the Jazz's head coach through the 2011-2012 season. 

After a meeting with Jazz general manager Kevin O’Connor following the team’s loss to the Chicago Bulls in Salt Lake City, Sloan and longtime assistant coach Phil Johnson both decided to resign. 

With a press conference scheduled for 5:00 p.m. ET to officially announce the news, Sloan's departure is directly linked to a fractured relationship with All-Star point guard Deron Williams, Management appears to have sided with Utah's best player over its longtime coach. 

After an altercation with Williams at halftime of the Bulls game, sources say Sloan decided then and there that he was finished. 

And just like that, one of the all-time greats walks away from the game in despairing fashion.  

At 68 years old, it's likely we have reached the end of the line for Sloan's illustrious career. A bitter moment, but one that leads to instant reflection.

Where exactly does Sloan, who never won an NBA championship, rank among the greatest coaches in the history of the sport?

15. Billy Cunningham

Wins: 454

Win Percentage: .698

Billy Cunningham followed up his Hall of Fame playing career with the Philadelphia 76ers with an eight-year stint as the team's head coach. 

He reached the 200, 300 and 400-win milestone faster than any coach in NBA history with a team built around all-time greats Julius Irving and Moses Malone. 

Cunningham's 76ers lost in the NBA Finals twice against the Los Angeles Lakers and Magic Johnson in 1980 and 1982, but came back in 1983 to dominate down the stretch, winning 11 of their last 12 games and sweeping the Lakers in the Finals. 

14. John Kundla

Wins: 423

Win Percentage: .583

Way back when the Lakers played in Minneapolis, John Kundla laid the bricks down for the league's first dynasty while coaching George Mikan, believed by many to be the league's first superstar. 

Kundla led the Lakers to five championships in six season from 1948 through 1954. 

Beginning his career at just 31 years old, Kundla was elected into the Hall of Fame in 1995. 

13. Lenny Wilkens

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MEMPHIS - DECEMBER 7: Head coach Lenny Wilkens of the New York Knicks watches his team against the Memphis Grizzlies on December 7, 2004 at the Fedex Forum in Memphis, Tennessee. The Grizzlies defeated the Knicks 96-88. NOTE TO USER: User expressly ackn

Wins: 1,332

Win Percentage: .536

The once winningest coach in NBA history, Wilkens pilled up a staggering 1,332 wins in his 32 seasons at the helm. 

Elected into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 1990, Wikens was later selected as one of the 50 greatest players in NBA history. 

Best known for his championship days with the Seattle SuperSonics in the 1970s, Wilkins also coached the Portland Trail Blazers, Cleveland Cavaliers, Atlanta Hawks, Toronto Raptors and New York Knicks. 

12. Jack Ramsay

Wins: 864

Win Percentage: .525

Dr. Jack served 20 years as an NBA head coach and while today's youth remembers him more in his role as a TV broadcaster, his is a long-and-storied history on the court. 

Best known for his days coaching the Portland Trail Blazers, especially the championship-winning team from the 1976-1977 season, Ramsay was a shoe-in for the Hall of Fame in 1992. 

The seventh-winningest coach in NBA history, Dr. Jack still has his touch from the broadcast booth. 

11. Larry Brown

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CHARLOTTE, NC - DECEMBER 21: Head coach Larry Brown of the Charlotte Bobcats yells to his team during their game against the Oklahoma City Thunder at Time Warner Cable Arena on December 21, 2010 in Charlotte, North Carolina. NOTE TO USER: User expressly

Wins: 1,089

Win Percentage: .551

Brown is the definition of the journeyman coach with a resume that simply never ends. 

He's the only coach in NBA history to lead eight different teams to the playoffs. Considering he's made nine stops in his career, it's no wonder Brown has developed a reputation as a turnaround guru. 

Brown's 25-year career as a college and NBA coach includes an NCAA championship and an NBA championship; he's the only person to ever do that. 

10. Bill Fitch

Wins: 638

Win Percentage: .593

Fitch was named one of the NBA's 10 greatest coaches of all-time in 1996, this coming after a 22-year career from the bench that saw him coach Boston, Houston, Cleveland, New Jersey and the LA Clippers. He was Larry Brown before Larry Brown. 

Fitch garnered a reputation as a fix-it coach and repeatedly was offered jobs to repair failing teams. 

Best known for his time with the Larry Bird-led Boston Celtics and the Hakeem Olajuwon-led Houston Rockets, Fitch's Celtics won the 1981 championship and his 1986 Rockets lost the championship to those same Celtics.  

9. Jerry Sloan

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LOS ANGELES, CA - MAY 04: Head coach Jerry Sloan of the Utah Jazz reacts in the second half while taking on the Los Angeles Lakers during Game Two of the Western Conference Semifinals of the 2010 NBA Playoffs at Staples Center on May 4, 2010 in Los Angel

Wins: 1,221

Win Percentage: .609

Sloan is the only coach in NBA history to ever record 1,000 wins with the same team, having spent his entire 23-year career with the Utah Jazz. 

The greatest coach to never win the championship, Sloan has led Utah to two appearances in the NBA Finals, 13 50-win or better seasons, but thanks to Michael Jordan, he could never reach the pinnacle of the sport. 

Like Dan Marino with the Miami Dolphins, as long as he was around, though, the Jazz were relevant. That's a bigger deal than you'd think when you look at it over a 20-year span. 

8. Rudy Tomjanovich

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LOS ANGELES - NOVEMBER 21: Head coach Rudy Tomjanovich of the Los Angeles Lakers coaches against the Chicago Bulls during the game at Staples Center on November 21, 2004 in Los Angeles, California. The Lakers won 102-93. NOTE TO USER: User expressly ac

Wins: 527

Win Percentage: .559

Tomjanovich is considered to be one of the greatest modern coaches of the game. 

Best known for his 12 years with the Houston Rockets, Tomjanovich led his teams to titles in 1994 and 1995 en route to setting franchise records for career wins and winning percentage.

Tomjanovich's 1995 team went into the playoffs as the sixth seed in the Western Conference. They would go on to defeat the top four teams in the league on their way to securing back-to-back titles. No team has ever matched the feat.  

7. Red Holzman

Wins: 696

Win Percentage: .535

Holzman was at the helm for the glory days of the New York Knicks, leading the franchise to NBA championships in 1970 and 1973, the only two championships in club history. 

In his 18-year career, Holzman put the Knicks on the map. 

He was elected into the Hall of Fame in 1985. 

6. Chuck Daly

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1988-1989: Coach Chuck Daly of the Detroit Pistons yells from the sidelines. Mandatory Credit: Tim de Frisco /Allsport

Wins: 638

Win Percentage: .593

Daly led the Detroit Pistons to back-to-back titles in 1989 and 1990, but he might be just as famous for his role as the head coach of the original Dream Team in the 1992 Olympics. 

Daly famously went the entire tournament without calling a single timeout. 

Elected into the Hall of Fame in 1994, Daly led his teams to winning records in 11 of his 13 seasons as a head coach.

5. Don Nelson

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MINNEAPOLIS, MN - APRIL 7: Head coach Don Nelson of Golden State Warriors in the first half against the Minnesota Timberwolves during a basketball game at Target Center on April 7, 2010 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledge

Wins: 1,335

Win Percentage: .557

Nelson served 20 years as NBA head coach, setting the all-time mark for wins in the 2009-2010 season. 

He and Pat Riley are the only coaches to ever be named Coach of the Year three times, with Nelson earning the honor in 1983, 1985 and 1992. 

But you can't talk Nelson with out talking Nellie Ball, his signature brand of basketball that popularized the point forward. 

4. Gregg Popovich

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OAKLAND, CA - JANUARY 24: Gregg Popovich of the San Antonio Spurs walks the sideline during their game against the Golden State Warriors at Oracle Arena on January 24, 2011 in Oakland, California. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees tha

Wins: 780

Win Percentage: .678

When it comes down to the best coaches in the game right now, there's no one better than Pop and Phil Jackson. 

Blessed with the No. 1 overall pick in 1997 that turned into Tim Duncan, Popovich led the Spurs to their first-ever championship in 1999. 

He followed that up with championships in 2003, 2005 and 2007. And just when people wrote the Spurs off as the old dog on the block, this season they became the seventh team in NBA history to win at least 43 games in the season's first 50. 

The six teams to do that before them all won championships. 

3. Pat Riley

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EAST RUTHERFORD, NJ - NOVEMBER 17: Head coach Pat Riley of the Miami Heat gestures on the sideline during the game against the New Jersey Nets on November 17, 2007 at the Izod Arena in East Rutherford, New Jersey. The Heat won 91-87. NOTE TO USER: User

Wins: 1,210

Win Percentage: .636

Head coach of the Showtime Lakers of the 1980s, Riley won his first four championships in 1982, 1985, 1987 and 1988. 

The fastest coach to reach 800 victories, he and Don Nelson are the only coaches to ever win Coach of the Year honors three times. 

After revitalizing the Knicks but falling short in the 1994 NBA Finals, Riley turned the Miami Heat from an expansion team to a perennial playoff contender. He would win his fifth championship as a head coach in 2006 with the Dwyane Wade-led Heat.

2. Red Auerbach

Wins: 938

Win Percentage: .662

Auerbach is simply a staple of professional basketball. He was proclaimed the Greatest Coach in the History of the NBA by the Pro Basketball Writers' Association of American in 1980. 

Red led the Boston Celtics to an astounding eight consecutive titles form 1959 to 1966. He would win nine total championships. 

Only Phil Jackson has matched that total and it seems difficult to envision anyone else even coming close. 

1. Phil Jackson

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LAS VEGAS - OCTOBER 13: Head coach Phil Jackson of the Los Angeles Lakers watches his team take on the Sacramento Kings during a preseason game at the Thomas & Mack Center October 13, 2010 in Las Vegas, Nevada. The Lakers won 98-95. NOTE TO USER: User ex

Wins: 1,134

Win Percentage: .704

Jackson's Lakers are on the verge of winning their sixth title since 2000, third in a row. It would be the fourth time different he's lead a team to three consecutive championships. That's untouchable. 

His 11 NBA championships trumps all. His .704 win percentage is the highest of any coach in league history. 

He says this season is his last. We'll see.