SALT LAKE CITY, May 13 (UPI) -- Even though his team is on the verge of breaking up, Jerry Sloan said Tuesday that he will be back as the team's coach for the 2003-04 season.
Sloan, 61, currently the longest tenured coach of any team in the four major professional sports, made the announcement that he will for his 16th with the Jazz.
He has one year remaining on his contract, but after the Jazz were eliminated by the Sacramento Kings in the first round of the playoffs, he said he needed some time to consider whether he wanted to commit to another season.
Fueling speculation that Sloan would step down was the retirement of 41-year-old guard John Stockton, a mainstay in Utah for the past 19 seasons.
Stockton's long-time teammate Karl Malone, 39, becomes a free agent on July 1, and may look to play elsewhere in pursuit of an elusive NBA championship.
However, Sloan decided he wanted to spend at least one year on the bench with the Jazz. The winningest coach in franchise history took over for Frank Layden on Dec. 9, 1988, and has posted a 775-511 record while making 15 consecutive appearances in the playoffs.
He ranks 10th on the NBA's all-time wins list, and his winning percentage of .631 is seventh all-time.
