The Jazz on Sunday announced that Jerry Sloan has agreed to a one-year extension of his coaching contract with the club, so that it now runs through the conclusion of the 2009-10 season.
Yet nothing, in a sense, is different.
Sloan will continue to work season-to-season, as he has for some time now, and he will continue to consider his employment with the franchise a daily proposition.
"That hasn't changed," he said by phone on Sunday after the 24-17 Jazz returned to town from Saturday night's loss at Dallas and a 1-2 road trip. "That's the way I've always done it."
Sloan, though, at least is now on record as having committed to a 22nd season as head coach of the Jazz.
And he looks forward to it, though not without a caveat.
"First of all we've got to get through this season," the 66-year-old said. "It's been pretty hectic, with all of the injuries."
The Jazz have lost 108 man games due to health issues this season, which at the halfway point of their season already is well more than double what they had all of last season.
And that's dampened things somewhat for Sloan, who after taking his team to the postseason each of the past two years had high hopes for this one.
"Like everybody, I was excited about the possibilities when the season started,"' he said Sunday. "But with the injuries, it's a little bit disheartening when you evaluate the situation."
Still, Sloan trudges on.
He succeeded Frank Layden on Dec. 9, 1988.
Two Western Conference championships, five new NBA teams, seven division titles, 18 playoff appearances
and 123 different players under his tutelage later, he's still going.
Sloan has had 1,632 regular-season games since taking over from Layden, going 1,019-613 in that span.
In the meantime, other NBA teams have made a combined 225 coaching changes.
The fourth-winningest coach in NBA history at 1,113-734, including his time with the Chicago Bulls, and the longest-tenured same-team coach or manager in major American professional sports, Sloan celebrated his 20th anniversary on the job in Utah last month.
Earlier this season, he also became the first NBA head coach to win 1,000 games with the same club.
Terms of the contract extension, which was and has been in the works since training camp last October, weren't disclosed.
But he's basically been working year-to-year since the passing in 2006 of a reported two-year, $11 million deal — worth a tad more than the $30,000 he made during his first season playing for the Bulls in 1967-68.
How long all the mind-boggling numbers keep changing, however, remains to be seen. Because truth be told, and extension announcements notwithstanding, Sloan simply isn't sure how long he'll continue to coach.
"Like always," he said, "I'll evaluate it day-to-day."
E-mail: tbuckley@desnews.com