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SALT LAKE CITY — The Utah Jazz have let go of head coach Tyrone Corbin, announcing Monday its decision to not renew his contract.
The Jazz front office and Corbin met Monday morning to discuss the team’s future, upon which, Corbin was informed his contract would not be renewed after his four-year tenure as the team’s head coach.
"I would like to thank Ty and his staff for all of their hard work, dedication and professionalism over the last three-plus seasons," Jazz General Manager Dennis Lindsey said in a prepared statement. "This has not been an easy decision, but after a thorough review process, we as an organization feel that this is the best decision for our franchise moving forward."
Corbin’s overall record as the team’s coach was 112-146, with a record of 25-57 this season for the worst record in the Western Conference.
At Thursday’s locker room cleanout, Corbin addressed his pending future to the media, saying his role as head coach was difficult based on the roster he was given.
“Anything can happen in this league. I’ve been in it a long time,” Corbin said. “You want to have a fair shake. You want the best opportunity you can have to win. We just, the organization just decided to go in a different direction from the guys we had the year before.
“I knew it would be difficult from the beginning,” he added. “In no way when you change the roster like we changed is it good for the coaching staff, especially in the last year of a contract. It brings a lot of questions in everything you do with young guys.”
I would like to thank Ty and his staff for all of their hard work, dedication and professionalism over the last three-plus seasons. This has not been an easy decision, but after a thorough review process, we as an organization feel that this is the best decision for our franchise moving forward.
–Dennis Lindsey
Lindsey said on Thursday the coaching decision would be made after a short “decompression” period for both parties to consider its options.
“When we spoke to Ty and his representation during the year, we laid out that we wanted to take the full season,” Lindsey said. “We wanted to take a small period for all of us — Ty included — to decompress, so we aren’t making a decision based on the last possession, the last game, and make an emotional decision.”
"We're not going to limit ourselves prematurely by defining any people or objectives that we're looking for, or criteria," Lindsey said at a later press conference. "We want to at least go into the early stages of this being a very objective process. As we move through the process it will become very subjective and be very criteria based and what we need moving forward."
Corbin is the third head coach to be let go this season. The Pistons fired Maurice Cheeks in February and New York fired its head coach Mike Woodson Monday morning. Minnesota’s Rick Adelman announced his retirement Monday.
The Jazz coaching search will begin immediately; however, the hiring of a new head coach is expected to come early in the offseason. However, the status of current Jazz assistant coaches is unknown as the front office attempts to determine its qualifications and criteria moving forward.
"We're going to get through this phase and then we'll talk about whether there is ability for guys to stay or if we can help them elsewhere or whether there will be internal candidates," Lindsey said. "We're not going to be bound by anything we say in a press conference today."
Corbin took over for Hall of Fame head coach Jerry Sloan on Feb. 10, 2011, finishing the season with a 39-43 record, 8-20 as interim head coach. Corbin would then coach his team to an NBA playoff appearance the next year in a shortened lockout season, losing to the San Antonio Spurs in the first round 4-0.
"Ty represented himself and the Utah Jazz organization with great class and dignity, and he and his family have been an important part of our team and community for many years," Jazz President Randy Rigby said in a prepared statement. "I want to thank them for their numerous contributions to this franchise and wish them well in the future. They will always remain a part of the Jazz family."
Corbin was an assistant under Sloan from 2004-2011 before assuming the head coaching job. Corbin was also a member of the Jazz team as a player from 1991-1994.
