by Marcel Mutoni / @marcel_mutoni
Having been away from the grind of coaching an NBA team for over a year now, Jerry Sloan has the itch again. And, wouldn’t you know it, but Sloan has interest in coaching the sad-sack that is otherwise known as the Charlotte Bobcats.
Sloan is expected to meet with Charlotte’s management team as early as this week, and the Hall of Fame coach also expressed interest in joining the Orlando Magic.
From the Salt Lake Tribune and Fox Sports:
Sloan said on Tuesday that he has talked to Charlotte owner Michael Jordan about the Bobcats’ job and could meet with him as early as this week. […] Reached at his farm outside McLeansboro, Ill., Sloan made it clear he would like to return to coaching after being away from basketball for 15 months. Sloan resigned as coach of the Jazz in February of 2011, citing fatigue after 23 seasons. Asked if he had talked to any team about a job opening, Sloan mentioned Jordan and the Bobcats, who finished 7-59 during the lockout-shortened season and then fired coach Paul Silas. According to Sloan, undertaking such a massive rebuilding job would not prevent him from considering Charlotte. “Obviously, you probably wouldn’t win [a championship] right off the bat,” he said. “But sometimes it’s not all about starting on top.”
Jerry Sloan once coached temperamental star Karl Malone for 15 years. Perhaps his next challenge could be another such guy, Dwight Howard. Sloan said on Tuesday he has interest in the Orlando Magic job, which became open Monday when Stan Van Gundy was fired. “Yes, I think so,” Sloan said. “It would be very intriguing. But they would have to be interested in me.”
There’s obviously no telling at the moment where Jerry Sloan will end up, but it seems like a fairly safe bet that he will be roaming some lucky team’s sideline next season.
And you can be sure that Orlando and Charlotte will have plenty of competition around the League for Sloan’s services.
