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.
As much as Sloan has been an institution in the NBA and pro sports, Johnson has been right there with him. Sloan's amazing tenure is rare, but so is Johnson's uninterrupted loyalty.
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