Who will be the next Jazz coach?
I'm guessing Rick Majerus.
Just kidding.
Would you believe Frank Layden? I didn't think so.
Increasingly, there's a chance it will be current Jazz assistant coach Tyrone Corbin. That doesn't mean it will be happening anytime soon, but at some point Jerry Sloan, 68, will retire.
Traditionally, the thinking was that the job would eventually go to chief assistant Phil Johnson. Larry H. Miller once stated if Sloan ever retired, the job would be almost certainly be Johnson's. But as a 22-year assistant coach under Sloan, Johnson will likely retire when Sloan does.
Corbin, on the other hand, is an intriguing possibility. Having served six seasons under Sloan, he knows what it takes to win in Utah and he knows the personnel. Also, his name has come up in connecting with other head coaching positions like Chicago, New Orleans and DePaul University. A coach's value always goes up when other people are interested in him. Corbin interviewed this week with the Hornets.
While Corbin doesn't have a lengthy coaching resume (he was previously manager of player development for the Knicks), the likelihood of him leading the Jazz is higher than two other names that fans tend to bring up: John Stockton and Jeff Hornacek. Neither of those former Jazz guards has coaching experience, unless you count Hornacek's occasional duty as a Jazz shooting instructor.
Corbin has a six-year jump on the other two. (Side note: Hornacek has shown some interest in someday coaching full-time; Stockton hasn't.)
All head coaches have to start somewhere, and it seems Utah is a place that could work for Corbin and vice versa -- unless someone else hires Corbin first.