Missing out on coaches?

[txjazzfan]

There seem to be some pretty good up and coming assistant coaches out there interviewing for head coaching jobs. Since Sloan is staying another year, are we missing out on guys like Tom Thibodeau of Boston, Monty Williams of Portland, and even our own Ty Corbin? Any thoughts? Comments?

 

[calijazz]

What do you suppose the Jazz do? Fire Sloan so they can hire his assistant? Ludicrous. If you have a proven coach, just stick with him (which we clearly do). You have a whole lot more to lose than to gain.

 

[txjazzfan]

What do you suppose the Jazz do? Fire Sloan so they can hire his assistant? Ludicrous. If you have a proven coach, just stick with him (which we clearly do). You have a whole lot more to lose than to gain.

Ok ... well ... I guess you missed my point. Didn't say get rid of or fire Sloan. Just was wanting to see what people thought. Sloan is always up in the air about whether he is gonna return.

 

[calijazz]

Ok ... well ... I guess you missed my point. Didn't say get rid of or fire Sloan. Just was wanting to see what people thought. Sloan is always up in the air about whether he is gonna return.

There will always be other candidates when the time comes...I don't think we need to worry about missing out on this group.

But anyways, welcome to the board.

 

[InGameStrategy]

What do you suppose the Jazz do? Fire Sloan so they can hire his assistant? Ludicrous. If you have a proven coach, just stick with him (which we clearly do). You have a whole lot more to lose than to gain.

Um, no, you don't fire Sloan to hire Ty Corbin; you don't renew his contract so that you can hire a coach who actually enforces his own philosophy and develops players.

Sloan does neither. He has allowed Boozer and Okur to play poor defense for years (NOT saying that they should be DNP'd; they should be sat down for a possession or two until they get the message), he doesn't play players who have actually produced, he overplays some players, and he has a long string of poor relationships with especially "foreign" players not named Okur (Kirilenkogate (although it's been patched up now, it deteriorated far too far before), Giricek (was no reason to bury him like Sloan did), Arroyo (no need to escalate the way it did), and Amaechi (rumors of not just poor use of him but of outright discrimination)).

Thibodeau is a missed opportunity. He came from a relatively small-market NBA town. He worked under a head coach who was both a disciplinarian and a player's coach who was especially good with foreigners). The Jazz would've been a more attractive destination than the Hornets. All Miller had to do was not renew Sloan. The Jazz don't owe Sloan any job security whatsoever, and unless Sloan changes the way he handles players and in-game situations (which is unlikely beyond what he has already changed), I don't see Utah being able to get above the ceiling that they have been vacillating at for decades on end.

You have a lot more to gain. Such as a championship from a coach who can lead teams better. Being a hard-nosed tough guy only accomplishes part of that role.

 

[BENTLEY]

Nice post InGame.

 

[honz]

There are always up and coming assistants and not many of them last as head coaches.

 

[Revolution 9]

How dare you question Sloan! His system is championship proven.
Obviously we'll wilt away, and die whenever Sloan leaves.
He is holding this thing together.

 

[InGameStrategy]

There are always up and coming assistants and not many of them last as head coaches.

Well it's funny you say that, honz, because Phil Jackson, Gregg Popovich, and Jerry Sloan are examples of assistants who did last as head coaches. (BTW, Sloan is the only one who has been fired as a head coach. He was fired by the Bulls.)

If you are implying that it's better to go with an existing head coach (or former head coach) among the ones available, I'd say no thanks. Philadelphia can have Doug Collins. Avery Johnson, Jeff van Gundy, and the freshly fired Mike "I can't even coach a king" Brown have had their chances. It is unbelievable to me that Mark Jackson is even being considered for a head coaching job. (Rick Carlisle and Rick Adelman would have been worth considering, however, over the past couple of years.)

I'd generally go with an assistant over a college coach, too, because the success of college-to-NBA path is mixed. Popovich did coach at the college level, but he was an assistant--and GM--before becoming a head coach. Chuck Daly and Bill Fitch won titles, but that was 20+ years ago. Rick Pitino, John Calipari, Tim Floyd, P.J. Carlesimo, and Jerry Tarkanian all had underwhelming NBA head coach stints.

Thibodeau has years of experience, including assisting several NBA title teams. He has worked with foreigners. And he has been interviewing for years. There might be other options, but not many with his background. Utah's loyalty to Sloan is no less damaging than their loyalty to Kiri and Memo; the Jazz re-signed those guys without looking around. And Utah continues to fail to meet their potential. Utah was better than a 5th-seed team this year, and they were better than getting swept in the second round, even with the injuries.

 

[honz]

Yes, some work out wonderfully, but most don't. Are there some things I don't like about Sloan? Yes, but I doubt a different coach would make us any better.

 

[Revolution 9]

A lot of people are scared of change here. They think we'll suddenly become a horrible team or drop out of the playoffs without Sloan.
Of course there is a coach out there that would probably gel better with the players, and get more out of them. There's no
doubt it's risky trying to find that guy, because just getting rid of Sloan won't make us better. We would have to find the right guy.

Since Sloan is clearly at the very end of his time with us, I don't see why we are holding onto him any longer.
He's not going to get us over the top, and he's not the future of this team.
The longer we wait, the more time we waste on finding the right guy to lead Dwill, and be apart of the future.

This year would have been perfect for a coaching change.

 

[txjazzfan]

I have liked the idea of Thibodeau for a few years now. He has been a real difference maker in Boston. I don't really look at him as an inexperienced coach. Its almost as if he is a co-coach in Boston in charge of the Defense. He would be a great coach for us.