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SALT LAKE CITY — Former Utah Jazz Head coach Jerry Sloan had his shot to get back into the NBA and he said no.
Portland Trailblazers general manager Neil Olshey was in Salt Lake on Wednesday and offered the Blazers head coaching position to Sloan but the former Jazz head coach told KSL, "I turned it down! That's it."
I turned it down! That's it.
–Jerry Sloan on Portland job offer
When asked about the reason for not taking the job Sloan said, "I don't want to get into that."
Sloan told Fox Sports Florida Thursday "it just didn't work out on my part" and declined to offer reasons why the job ultimately didn't interest him.
For Sloan, it may now be a while before another NBA opportunity presents itself.
The Orlando Magic continue to have an open coaching position, though internet reports Friday suggested former Jazz player and current Spurs assistant Jacque Vaughn was emerging as a frontrunner among a small pool of other NBA assistants that also includes Jazz assistant Jeff Hornacek.
Former Jazz assistant Gordon Chiesa said Friday Sloan's name will likely surface again with the first round of firings in the coming NBA season.
"Jerry Sloan wants to a head coach still in the NBA," Chiesa said. "Jerry has to find the right place for him."
Chiesa suggested in an interview with KSL that the right fit would include owners who were willing to allow Sloan greater control and who would back his disciplinary style.
"It has to be a match between the ownership and management team with the players that are probably somewhat underachieving - that's where Jerry would do his best work," Chiesa said.
Sloan told Fox Sports Florida he had not been contacted by the Magic, and had only talked to Portland and Charlotte to date.
So now, Sloan will spend the rest of his summer trying to salvage his corn crop on his farm in McLeansboro, Ill.
That part of the country hasn't had rain for months and Sloan may have to forfeit this year's crop and just chop it down.
