Hard-working, driven, successful and well-respected, Head Coach Jerry Sloan enters in his 20th season at the helm of the Jazz with the same intensity and work ethic that has characterized his life as a player and a coach for more than 40 years in the NBA. The 65-year-old native of McLeansboro, Ill., lets his coaching achievements speak for themselves, with the fourth most wins all-time (1035-689), seventh best winning percentage (.600) in NBA history (500-win minimum), two NBA Finals appearances (1997 and 1998) and six division titles. He has also guided the Jazz to 16 consecutive winning seasons and eleven 50-win seasons. Sloan’s teams have made 17 trips to the NBA Playoffs (16 w/
After leading the team to a 42-40 record in 2003-04, Jerry was selected by the The Sporting News as the NBA Coach of the Year as voted on by his NBA peers, and was runner-up to Memphis’ Hubie Brown for the Red Auerbach NBA Coach of the Year as voted by a panel of national media that covers the NBA. He also finished second to Toronto’s Sam Mitchell in Coach of the Year balloting in 2006-07 after improving the Jazz by 10 games, winning the Northwest Division title while returning them to the playoffs for the first time since 2003.
He became the fifth coach in NBA history to record 1,000 wins with a victory over Dallas on December 11, 2006. He then passed Larry Brown for fourth on the NBA’s all-time win list (1,010) on January 20, 2007 at Chicago. He coached his 1,500th game on December 14, 2004 against the Los Angeles Clippers.
Sloan ranks first on the all-time list for consecutive games coached with one franchise (1,509), and also owns the record for most wins with one team (941). Earning his 11th 50-win season with a 51-31 record in 2006-07, Sloan is one of just three coaches in league history to win at least 50 games in 10 different seasons (Pat Riley-16, Phil Jackson-11). Sloan’s 16 straight winning seasons (1988-2004) are second-most all-time (Pat Riley had 19 from 1981-2001) and Sloan and Red Auerbach (11) are the only two coaches in NBA history to have 10 straight winning seasons with one team.
Sloan worked for the Jazz as a scout (1983-84), became an assistant coach to Frank Layden on November 19, 1984, and was named the sixth head coach in franchise history on December 9, 1988, when Layden resigned. Nineteen seasons and 1,509 games later, Sloan is the franchise's winningest coach with a .624 winning percentage (941-568). He has the longest active tenure with one team in the NBA and is the longest tenured coach with the same franchise in all of major professional sports. Since his hiring there have been 196 other NBA head coaching changes (entering 2007-08). In fact, five current NBA teams (Bobcats, Grizzlies, Raptors, Magic, Timberwolves) did not exist when he took the helm in
Prior to joining the Jazz, Sloan compiled a 94-121 (.437 percent) record in nearly three seasons with the Chicago Bulls. In his second season as Bulls head coach (1980-81), he advanced the Bulls to the second round of the playoffs in the team’s first playoff appearance following a three-year absence. He served as an assistant coach in Chicago for two seasons (1977-79) and worked as a Bulls scout in 1976-77. He served briefly as head coach of the Evansville Thunder in the CBA in 1984 but resigned to take the job as Layden's assistant before ever coaching a game.
AS A PLAYER: Averaged 14.0 points, 7.5 rebounds and 2.5 assists in 755 games played over 11 NBA seasons with Chicago and Baltimore (1965-76) … A two-time NBA All-Star (1967, 1969), displayed unparalleled toughness and grit, earning four NBA All-Defensive First Team selections (1968-69, 1971-72, 1973-75) and two Second Team selections (1969-71) … One of 18 players in NBA history ever to be voted to All-Defensive First Team at least four times … Nicknamed "The Original Bull" after the Chicago Bulls selected him first in the 1966 Expansion Draft, and he proceeded to play 10 seasons in Chicago (1966-76) … Ranks third on Chicago’s all-time ledger in games played (696), minutes played (25,750) and steals (5,385), fourth in points (10,233) and field goals made (4,116), and eighth in assists (1,815) … Led the Bulls in rebounding (1966-67), steals (1973-75), and minutes played (1968-69) … Scored a career-high 43 points (19-36 FG, 5-
AS A COLLEGIAN: Played three seasons at Evansville after transferring from Illinois prior to the 1961-62 season … Averaged 15.5 points and 12.4 rebounds in 85 contests … Named NCAA Division II Elite Eight All-Tournament team in 1964 and 1965, and was named Most Outstanding Player both years as his Purple Aces won consecutive national championships … One of three players in Elite Eight history to be named Most Outstanding Player twice … Selected Second Team All-America by The Sporting News following his senior season after averaging 17.6 points and 14.7 rebounds and leading the Purple Aces to a 29-0 record and their second straight Division II National Championship … Holds the NCAA Championship Game record for rebounds (25) … In 2006, was one of 10 players named to the NCAA Division II 50th Anniversary All-Elite Eight Team.
PERSONAL: One of 10 children, Sloan makes his offseason home in McLeansboro, Ill. Sloan remarried in September 2006 and resides in Salt Lake City during the season with his wife, Tammy, and stepson, Rhett. He enjoys going to garage and yard sales and restoring old John Deere tractors.
He and his late wife, Bobbye, are the parents of three children (nine grandchildren): Kathy, who serves as vice president of The Bobby and Jerry Sloan “Hand-in-Hand” Foundation and resides in the Indianapolis area; Holly, who is a junior high school teacher and coach in the Chicago area; and Brian, who is an emergency room doctor in the Indianapolis area. Sloan remains active in the Susan B. Komen foundation in Evansville,
In 2005 friends and family of Bobbye and Jerry Sloan established the “Hand-in-Hand” Foundation to assist individuals and organizations with the financial support they need to reach their full potential, focusing on the following areas: education, athletics, conservation, arts, health and wellness, animal welfare and agriculture. For more information on the Hand-in-Hand Foundation, log onto www.bobbyeandjerrysloan.org.