Jerry Sloan Resigns, Tyrone Corbin Becomes Utah’s First New Head Coach Since 1988

Jerry Sloan resigned as the coach of the Utah Jazz on Thursday, but no players were in attendance at the legend’s farewell press conference in Salt Lake City. One Jazz player, however, did take to Twitter to react to the news.

C.J. Miles, a Jazz wing, expressed disbelief at Sloan’s abrupt departure. (We took the liberty of cleaning up the tweetspeak.)

Saying “it’s time to move on,” Jerry Sloan officially announced his resignation as Utah Jazz head coach after 23 years in an emotional press conference in Salt Lake City. The longtime head coach said he was thinking about resigning after last night’s Jazz loss to the Bulls, slept on it and ultimately made up his mind this morning.

Sloan, who resigned along with longtime assistant coach Phil Johnson, remained understated throughout the press conference, cracking jokes to relieve the obvious pain on his face. He denied reports that he was pushed outbecause of a halftime dispute with Deron Williams, his star player.

As Jerry Sloan formally announced his resignation at a press conference Thursday, the Utah Jazz named Tyrone Corbin the team’s new coach. Corbin is in his seventh season with the Jazz, having previously played in the NBA for 15 years (including a stint in Utah).

Sloan’s longtime top assistant Phil Johnson resigned, as well, leaving Corbin, who has been considered a top coaching prospect and interviewed with the New Orleans Hornets last summer, to ascend to the top spot. But Corbin’s promotion came amid about the most surreal retirement announcement since Magic Johnson. Corbin, sharing the stage with Sloan, Johnson, Jazz GM Kevin O’Connor and Jazz owner Greg Miller (among others), looked like he wanted to disappear.

Jerry Sloan has confirmed to Chris Tomasson of FanHouse that he has resigned as head coach of the Utah Jazz. News about Sloan’s exit from the team he’s led since 1988 broke earlier Thursday. The Jazz have scheduled a 5 PM Eastern press conference to announced the decision and the expected promotion of Utah assistant coach Tyrone Corbin.

Sloan was in his 23rd season as Utah’s head coach. While he’s never won a Coach of the Year award, he was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 2009 with longtime point guard John Stockton. Unfortunately enough, it has been reported that clashes with his current All-Star point guard -- Deron Williams -- led to Sloan’s exit.

Utah Jazz coach Jerry Sloan, who will resign today, and his point guard Deron Williams had an argument so heated during halftime of the team’s Wednesday loss to the Chicago Bulls that witness thought they might come to blows, reports Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports.

Sloan’s pending resignation sent shock and ... well, more shock through the NBA on Thursday. The Jazz have a 5 PM Eastern news conference scheduled to formally announce Sloan’s departure. Quickly after news of Sloan’s exit spread, Wojnarowski and other reporters began reporting on a halftime blow-up between the tenured coach and Williams.

Tyrone Corbin is expected to take over as the head coach of the Utah Jazz in the wake of the Thursday resignation of Jerry Sloan, according to a report.

Yahoo! Sports’ Adrian Wojnarowski reported that Jazz players told friends before the team’s 5 PM Eastern press conference at which Sloan’s resignation will be announced that they expect Corbin, a retired journeyman forward, to take over. Phil Johnson, who has been Sloan’s top assistant in Utah since 1988, was also expected to resign on Thursday.

Jerry Sloan will resign as head coach of the Utah Jazz at a 5 PM Eastern press conference, according to a report from the Deseret News. But the Jazz will also lose Phil Johnson, Sloan’s longtime top assistant coach. Johnson joined the Jazz as an assistant coach two days after Sloan was named head coach there. He had served as a Jazz assistant for two years before being hired as the head coach of the Sacramento Kings; he also served as an assistant under Sloan when the latter coached the Chicago Bulls.

Johnson, an Idaho native and Utah State University alum, had long been considered the Jazz’s next-coach-in-waiting, but Sloan stuck around so long that Johnson’s own career began to wrap up. He’s pushing 70, and is unlikely to get another shot at a lead job.

Jerry Sloan will conduct a press conference at 5 p.m. Eastern Standard Time Thursday, during which he is expected to announce his resignation as the head coach of the Utah Jazz. The press conference will occur at the Jazz’s training facility, according to Brian T. Smith of the Salt Lake Tribune.

The news of Sloan’s resignation comes via the Deseret News in Utah. It occurs one night after Sloan had a 30-minute discussion in his office with Jazz general manager Kevin O’Connor following the team’s 91-86 loss to the Chicago Bulls. Sloan, who usually emerges quickly to talk to the media, did not come out for a long time. When he did, he appeared shaken and said that he would have news on his future in the morning.

Sloan was the longest-tenured coach in American professional sports, having taken over the head job in the 1988/89 season. He has a career record of 1221-803, the vast majority of which came with the Jazz.