Sloan now a Utah treasure News Utah Jazz

It's hard now, 20 years and one month later, to remember the shock Utah sports fans felt when Frank Layden decided suddenly, in the middle of a promising season, to give up his job as head coach of the Utah Jazz . The task fell to assistant coach Jerry Sloan, a 46-year-old best known as once being a tough defensive player, and who had had a brief and dismal tenure as coach of the Chicago Bulls. His first comment when he sat in the chair Layden used for post-game interviews was, "This is a tough seat.

It's a lot bigger than I thought." This seemed like a cruel dashing of hopes. To Jazz fans at the time, Layden had become somewhat of a genius, albeit sometimes a comedic genius. Sloan was an unknown. Today it would be hard to imagine the Utah Jazz without Sloan. Fortunately, no one will have to face that at least through the 2009-10 season, which is the length of the new contract he just signed. Of course, the coach would be quick to tell you that nothing is certain. He takes things day-to-day, which means he expects himself, and his players, to treat every day as if it is important, and to always give his best. That work ethic has resonated well with Utah fans. While soccer fans will contest it vehemently, the Jazz remain the state's only major franchise in a league that is recognized nationally and internationally as a major attraction. The Salt Lake metro area no longer is clearly the least-populated member of the NBA. Memphis, Oklahoma City and New Orleans give it comparable company now, and a healthy growth rate keeps it climbing the list. But the Basketball team remains a catalyst for national recognition, a source of pride and a psychological barometer for the region's collective self-esteem, more so than most NBA teams are for their host cities. Because of not only Sloan, but owner Larry H. Miller and former players John Stockton and Karl Malone, fans here have come to expect the team to mirror their own values and sense of ethics. That is a remarkable thing in an age of pampered and petulant athletes and coaches. Our guess is most people have forgotten that the Jazz lost the first game under Sloan, 97-89 to the Dallas Mavericks. That's because Sloan has racked up more than 1,000 wins since then, becoming the first coach ever to do so with the same team. He has coached 118 separate players, won two Western Conference titles and taken the team to the playoffs 18 times. Other teams in the league have changed coaches a combined 225 times. No coach in American professional sports has survived as long in one job as Sloan. We hope that record keeps extending for many more years.