Every NBA Coaching Change During Jerry Sloan’s Tenure With Utah Jazz

May 26, 2020, 1:00 PM

Utah Jazz's coach Jerry Sloan during the NBA exhibition match between the Utah Jazz and the Chicago Bulls at the 02 Arena, London (Photo by Anthony Devlin/PA Images via Getty Images)

(Photo by Anthony Devlin/PA Images via Getty Images)

BY TREVOR ALLEN, KSL SPORTS

KSL Sports

SALT LAKE CITY, Utah – When Jerry Sloan was at the helm of the Utah Jazz from 1988-2011, he was the longest tenured coach in major sports history when he resigned on February 7, 2011.

When Sloan resigned, the NBA had 245 coaching changes during the 23 seasons that Sloan was the head coach.

Sloan passed away on Friday, May 22 due to complications from Parkinson’s disease and Lewy body dementia.

Breakdown

Of the 245 coaching changes during Sloan’s tenure, 126 of them came from the Eastern Conference and 119 from the Western Conference. Those 245 changes included 9 coaches that are in the Basketball Hall of Fame as coaches. Those coaches are Don Nelson, Larry Brown, Bill Fitch, Pat Riley, Phil Jackson, Lenny Wilkens, Rick Pitino, John Calipari and Chuck Daly.

While Sloan was the head coach for the Jazz, three players or coaches who were with Sloan at one point in time went on to be the head coach of a team during Sloan’s tenure. Former players Marc Iavaroni and Larry Krystkowiak were head coaches in the late 2000s. Iavaroni was the Memphis Grizzlies head coach from 2007-09 while Krystkowiak coached the Milwaukee Bucks during the 2007-08 season. Longtime assistant coach Kenny Natt had a short stint as the head coach of the Sacramento Kings during the 2008-09 season.

Jerry Sloan's coaching tree has deep roots and expanding branches. 🌳 #TakeNote #NBATwitter #JerrySloan https://t.co/4Lv6h64zmQ

— KSL Sports (@kslsports) May 22, 2020

The Los Angeles Clippers had the most coaching changes during that span with 13. 10 NBA teams made at least 10 coaching changes during Sloan’s Jazz stint. The team with the fewest coaching changes was the Houston Rockets with 3.

Here is every coaching change in the NBA from December 12, 1988 to February 7, 2011.

The List

Western Conference

Dallas Mavericks

John MacLeod, 1987-89
Richie Adubato, 1989-92
Gar Heard, 1992-93
Quinn Buckner, 1993-94
Dick Motta, 1994-96
Jim Cleamons, 1996-97
Don Nelson, 1997-05
Avery Johnson, 2005-08
Rick Carlisle, 2008-Present

Number of coaching changes: 8

Denver Nuggets

Doug Moe, 1980-90
Paul Westhead, 1990-92
Dan Issel, 1992-95
Gene Littles, 1995
Bernie Bickerstaff, 1995-96
Dick Motta, 1996-97
Bill Hanzlik, 1997-98
Mike D’Antoni, 1998-99
Dan Issel, 1999-01
Mike Evans, 2001-02
Jeff Bzdelik, 2002-04
Michael Cooper, 2004
George Karl, 2004-13

Number of coaching changes: 12

Golden State Warriors

Don Nelson, 1988-95
Bob Lanier, 1995
Rick Adelman, 1995-97
P.J. Carlesimo, 1997-99
Garry St. Jean, 1999-00
Dave Cowens, 2000-01
Brian Winters, 2001-02
Eric Musselman, 2002-04
Mike Montgomery, 2004-06
Don Nelson, 2006-10
Keith Smart, 2010-11

Number of coaching changes: 10

Houston Rockets

Don Chaney, 1988-92
Rudy Tomjanovich, 1992-2003
Jeff Van Gundy, 2003-07
Rick Adelman, 2007-11

Number of coaching changes: 3

Los Angeles Clippers

Gene Shue, 1987-89
Don Casey, 1989-90
Mike Schuler, 1990-92
Mack Calvin, 1992
Larry Brown, 1992-93
Bob Weiss, 1993-94
Bill Fitch, 1994-98
Chris Ford, 1998-00
Jim Todd, 2000
Alvin Gentry, 2000-03
Dennis Johnson, 2003
Mike Dunleavy, 2003-10
Kim Hughes, 2010
Vinny Del Negro, 2010-13

Number of coaching changes: 13

Los Angeles Lakers

Pat Riley, 1981-90
Mike Dunleavy, 1990-92
Randy Pfund, 1992-94
Bill Bertka, 1994
Magic Johnson, 1994
Del Harris, 1994-99
Bill Bertka, 1999
Kurt Rambis, 1999
Phil Jackson, 1999-04
Rudy Tomjanovich, 2004-05
Frank Hamblen, 2005
Phil Jackson, 2005-11

Number of coaching changes: 11

Memphis/Vancouver Grizzlies

Brian Winters, 1995-97
Stu Jackson, 1997
Brian Hill, 1997-99
Lionel Hollins, 1999-00
Sidney Lowe, 2000-02
Hubie Brown, 2002-04
Lionel Hollins, 2004
Mike Fratello, 2004-06
Tony Barone, 2006-07
Marc Iavaroni, 2007-09
Johnny Davis, 2009
Lionel Hollins, 2009-13

Number of coaching changes: 11

Minnesota Timberwolves

Bill Musselman, 1989-91
Jimmy Rodgers, 1991-93
Sidney Lowe, 1993-94
Bill Blair, 1994-95
Flip Saunders, 1995-05
Kevin McHale, 2005
Dwane Casey, 2005-07
Randy Wittman, 2007-08
Kevin McHale, 2008-09
Kurt Rambis, 2009-11

Number of coaching changes: 9

New Orleans Hornets/Pelicans

Paul Silas, 2002-03
Tim Floyd, 2003-04
Byron Scott, 2004-09
Jeff Bower, 2009-10
Monty Williams, 2010-13

Number of coaching changes: 4

Oklahoma City Thunder/Seattle Supersonics

Bernie Bickerstaff, 1985-90
K.C. Jones, 1990-91
Bob Kloppenburg, 1991
George Karl, 1991-98
Paul Westphal, 1998-00
Nate McMillan, 2000-05
Bob Weiss, 2005
Bob Hill, 2006-07
P.J. Carlesimo, 2007-08
Scott Brooks, 2008-15

Number of coaching changes: 9

Phoenix Suns

Cotton Fitzsimmons, 1988-92
Paul Westphal, 1992-96
Cotton Fitzsimmons, 1996
Danny Ainge, 1996-99
Scott Skiles, 1999-02
Frank Johnson, 2002-03
Mike D’Antoni, 2003-08
Terry Porter, 2008-09
Alvin Gentry, 2009-13

Number of coaching changes: 8

Portland Trail Blazers

Rick Adelman, 1988-94
P.J. Carlesimo, 1994-97
Mike Dunleavy, 1997-01
Maurice Cheeks, 2001-05
Kevin Pritchard, 2005
Nate McMillan, 2005-12

Number of coaching changes: 6

Sacramento Kings

Jerry Reynolds, 1988-90
Dick Motta, 1990-91
Rex Hughes, 1991-92
Garry St. Jean, 1992-97
Eddie Jordan, 1997-98
Rick Adelman, 1998-06
Eric Musselman, 2006-07
Reggie Theus, 2007-08
Kenny Natt, 2008-09
Paul Westphal, 2009-12

Number of coaching changes: 9

San Antonio Spurs

Larry Brown, 1988-92
Bob Bass, 1992
Jerry Tarkanian, 1992
Rex Hughes, 1992
John Lucas II, 1992-94
Bob Hill, 1994-96
Gregg Popovich, 1996-Present

Number of coaching changes: 6

More than a dozen @NBA teams joined the @utahjazz in mourning the loss of Coach Jerry Sloan today. #TakeNote #NBATwitter #JerrySloan https://t.co/I5LXWfwu6L

— KSL Sports (@kslsports) May 22, 2020