Thank you, Jerry

Thursday gave me the biggest sports surprise I have ever heard, something I thought I would never, ever see.

Keeping in mind that I am a die hard Saints fan, and up until last season, they had been better known as the Aints, and their surprise run to winning the Superbowl in 2009-2010 doesn't even come close to this.

Jerry Sloan resigned as head coach of the Utah Jazz.

He didn't retire at the end of a season, he wasn't fired. He resigned.

I never thought I would see Jerry Sloan resign. I knew that one day he would retire, I knew that the Miller family would never fire Sloan and I never, ever would think that Sloan would resign, or in other words quit.

So something is missing. This doesn't add up to me. It doesn't feel right.

I watched some video clips of the press conference and I saw a beaten and defeated Sloan. Sure, he may be 68 years old and he has been the head coach for the Jazz since the 1988-1989 season, that's a long time to be in one place.  But Jerry is not a quitter. Jerry is a warrior, he is 'old school', he doesn't put up with crap, he speaks his mind but he is humble at the same time. And most importantly, he is an amazing coach.

Rumors are flaring everywhere that Sloan resigned because of growing contentions with all star PG Deron Williams. Rumors are out there that Deron basically said its either him or me. I really hope this isn't true, because if it is then the Jazz are screwed. If, and I'd like to think it's a big if, If Deron forced out Sloan then all it means is he will be leaving the Jazz when his contract expires at the end of the 2011-2012 season, AKA next season.

There is a lot talk going on about how Deron and Sloan got in a really, really big argument during the game against the Bulls. It appeared to be about how a play was ran. Looks like things got bad at half time and Sloan wanted to either suspend or discipline Deron in some way. Deron didn't like that too much.

To make things even more interesting, Sloan didn't address the media right after the loss like he normally does. Instead he and Kevin O'Conner talked for about 30 minutes before talking to the media. My guess is that that is when Sloan found out that the Jazz had decided to talk a side with Deron and not Sloan.

Jerry Sloan is too good of a guy, too loyal, of a guy to say that the Jazz threw him out. He didn't want to throw his team under the bus, he didn't want to tarnish Deron's reputation and make him seem like a kinda bad guy.

So just because Sloan says he is retiring for personal reasons does not mean that those reasons are Deron Williams and the Jazz telling him his time is up. My guy is just telling me that Sloan was forced out, I just don't see him quitting especially when earlier this week he signed a one year contract extension. It doesn't add up the way the Jazz are saying it.

The only way it adds up is that Sloan was forced out of Utah.

Before all of this I thought Deron was a level headed guy, he didn't speak out much, he didn't want to be in all the commercials and everything that most NBA stars want. Usually if you get a guy like that it means he is loyal and wants to win, he doesn't care about off the court fame, only on the court fame. That is one reason why I have come to respect Deron Williams so much as a PG, he seemed like a perfect leader.

But if he forced out Sloan, or played a big factor in forcing him out, then he is just like every other NBA diva out there, only wanting a big pay check and knowing he can get what he wants.

Deron knows that the Utah Jazz organization has placed their entire future into his hands. Literally the entire future of the Utah Jazz are in his hands. And he can walk away next season and go anywhere else he wants.

Deron isn't stupid. He knows the leverage that he has. He knows what he can get the organization to do. And if he used that leverage to get Sloan out as head coach, then the Jazz have made a big mistake.

If this is all true, and please believe me when I say I really hope that it is not, then Deron has no loyalty and is just trying to get what he wants. And when the end of next season comes and he can walk out of Utah he will see how much other teams want him. Most teams will make a pitch to him, they'd be stupid not too unless they already had a franchise PG. Deron is one of the top 3 PG's in the league, my opinion he is number one, and the most important position on the court is PG. Deron will have plenty of suitors, so he can choose to go anywhere he wants.

Deron wants as much as he can it seems. For some reason that is what I am feeling. And if its true then the Jazz will be a team that will not matter after 2011-2012. Lets hope I am wrong.

How will we remember Jerry Sloan? Is it his 1,221 victories, 3rd all time? Or how about he is the only coach to win 1,000 games with one team? How about 15 straight playoff appearances? Or the fact he was coach for 23 seasons in one place, longest tenured coach in North American pro sports?

There is a lot to think about. What will I remember about Sloan? His no nonsense approach to the game. I like that, he doesn't want to give special treatment to players. I love that, he knows that this is a team game and it takes a team to win.

I also love his humility, he never talks himself up. He blames himself when the team loses and praises the players when they win. He doesn't like the spot light. You could tell that during his Hall of Fame induction speech that he was nervous as hell and that he didn't want the attention, even though he was honored and grateful to be inducted.

He never whined or moaned about never winning coach of the year, even though he deserved it on many occasions.

I'll miss seeing him on TV arguing with refs, seeing him yell the F bomb. I'll miss the John Deere hats that he wore to interviews.

I'll miss how good he it at coaching.

I've been a Utah Jazz fan since I knew what basketball was. I was lucky enough to grow up loving Stockton, Malone, Sloan. Good, hard, physical, basketball. No special treatments given out. Its how basketball should be done.

Thank you Jerry.