So long, Sloan

When Karl Malone and John Stockton retired, who would've thought that the Utah Jazz will remain a force in the Western Conference?

In a sea of doubters, I'm pretty sure Jerry Sloan was the only guy who ever believed in the Jazz.

When Stockton decided to call it quits, and Malone decided to play with Shaquille O'Neal, I'm pretty sure Sloan was the only one who wasn't in panic mode.

Even in the midst of three seasons that his team didn't make it to the playoffs, I'm pretty sure Sloan had faith in the organization, in the franchise. I'm pretty sure Sloan knew that eventually, things will turn around.

A budding point guard and an underrated power forward later, the Jazz are back with their pick and roll attack. The Jazz returned to the playoffs, and at one point, were considered as title contenders.

Yes its the 2000s. Much has changed. There's less hand checking and more hop stepping going on. For the Jazz, the major players have changed. But one thing that hasn't, the one thing that the 90s' Stockton-to-Malone Jazz and the 2000s' Deron Williams and (insert power forward here) shared, was Sloan.

At the end of the day, it can't be helped that the credit for all those Ws belonged to the hard-nosed coach who started his NBA career with the team that denied him the Larry O'Brien, twice.

With his dedication and no-nonsense attitude, I'm pretty sure that Sloan was pretty sure that he knew what he was doing. Sure, there have been stories of him driving his players really hard, but only because he also demanded a lot from himself that he often pushes the envelope further.

And I'm pretty sure that Sloan didn't see this coming. That it had to end this way.

Sloan has left the Jazz because of his strained relationship with his star player.

I still recall Sloan challenging Chris Webber to a fist fight, so even in his age, I wouldn't mess with Sloan. Williams though had another thing in mind.

For all of Williams' talents, I'm sorry Utah, but this is the end of the line. You don't have the personnel, outside of D-Will, that'll give you a taste of that return trip to the Finals. Sure, Paul Millsap and Al Jefferson are good, but face it, they're not good enough. And with Sloan gone, it's safe to assume that it will take a lot longer before the Jazz could play against an Eastern Conference team in June.

So long Sloan. But hope you won't be gone for good. Because from where I stand, there are some talented teams that could use better coaching. Charlotte Bobcats? LA Clippers? Philadelphia 76ers?

So long Sloan. Thanks for the memories.

Just checkout this report from Yahoo!Sports for details on Sloan's resignation.