When Spurs coach Gregg Popovich looks down the opposite sideline Saturday night, he'll no longer see the face of Jerry Sloan seated on the opponent's bench.

Saturday’s game marks the Spurs’ first against Utah since Sloan’s abrupt resignation on February 10th.

This is the year that has seen the departure of a host of old-school NBA coaches.

Over the past 12 months, Don Nelson and Larry Brown, both former Popovich mentors, have been put out to pasture; Sloan quit in Utah after 23 seasons; and longtime Spurs nemesis Phil Jackson is planning his exit this summer.

In his 15th season in San Antonio, Popovich is now the league’s longest-tenured coach. And only Jackson, Denver’s George Karl and Houston’s Rick Adelman have logged more NBA games.

“I hate to see those other guys gone,” Popovich said. “It makes me feel old.”