Sam Amick of Sports Illustrated writes that Jerry Sloan has pulled out of the running as a candidate for the Bobcats' head coaching position. With Sloan out of the picture, Brian Shaw and Quin Snyder now appear to be the frontrunners. Shaw reportedly had an "excellent" meeting with team owner Michael Jordan last Thursday, and according to a tweet by Dave McMenamin of ESPN LA, Snyder had a second meeting with Jordan yesterday. Amick cites a source with knowledge of the situation that Jordan had been considering re-opening the coaching search if he was not impressed with the finalists.
When reached by phone, Sloan didn't elaborate too much on his decision:
"I took myself out today…I don't want to comment on it because it's never profitable for anybody. It just makes it sound like you're making a statement about someone. But they were wonderful and there were no problems. I just took myself out."
Sloan also commented on rumors linking him to the head coaching opportunities with the Trail Blazers and the Magic:
"I wasn't involved in (those situations), and people said I was but I wasn't at all. I only talked to Michael Jordan. That's it."
Sloan, who turned 70-years-old in March, owns 26 years of coaching experience. His 23-year tenure with the Jazz (after three with the Bulls) remains the longest period of time in which a coach stayed with one franchise.While Sloan's return to coaching remains a question mark, he certainly appeared open to listening to more offers:
"If somebody calls me, I guess I'd listen to what they have to say. But I don't have an agent, and if somebody calls I'd be willing to listen to them."
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