Jerry Sloan's impressive coaching career came to an unexpected halt in 2010 when he resigned as the coach of the Utah Jazz. He has not been active in the league since. However, that is not stopping teams from giving him a call. Several teams with a head coaching vacancy are looking into Sloan and seeing what his interest level is for returning to the league. While the Brooklyn Nets are looking at Sloan, the Milwaukee Bucks have already reached out to him.
At 71-years old, Sloan has not seen an NBA court since coaching with the Jazz. He had a fallout with the franchise and their star player, Deron Williams. He walked away from the team and eventually Utah entered a major rebuilding phase. At a few years off, Sloan is ready to return and plenty of teams are interested.
Sloan is now on the list of coaching candidates for the Bucks. The team is also looking at Houston assistant Kelvin Sampson and Portland's former coach, Nate McMillan. Sloan has the type of resume that puts those two to shame and makes him the perfect addition to Milwaukee's team.
Sloan began coaching in 1979 for the Chicago Bulls. His career record is 1,221-803 as a head coach, currently ranking third on the all-time wins list. He spent most of his career in Utah where he helped lead the team to back-to-back NBA Finals appearances in the 1990's.
He walked away from Utah after 23 seasons. Sloan was approached by the Trail Blazers last season to join as head coach but he declined the offer. He was also in the running to coach the Charlotte Bobcats before also declining that offer.
Milwaukee is not the only team pursuing Sloan to return. The Brooklyn Nets are considering him a candidate after an endorsement from an unlikely source, Williams. The Nets star has said he would love to play for Sloan again and has let the team know he supports the idea. Sloan himself said the feeling was mutual.
"I would listen. I haven't done the research on their roster, but I would definitely listen if they called," Sloan said.
If the Hall of Famer is completely onboard with making a comeback into the league, every team without a head coach will call him. He will likely just get the option of picking where he wants to coach next season and with his impressive resume, he deserves the luxury.
