Jerry Sloan's plan is to return for a 17th season as head coach of the Jazz. Should his intentions change, however, Jazz owner Larry H. Miller has a successor in mind.

He's said it before, and nothing ? he said Thursday, as Jazz players cleaned out their lockers after a 42-40 season ? has given him cause to think otherwise.

"It's Phil," Miller said. "We've told Phil that."

'Phil' is Phil Johnson, ex-NBA Coach of the Year and Sloan's longtime right-hand man.

"Phil deserves it," Miller said. "I think if something happened like (Sloan not returning), Phil would want to take a shot at it for a while. He's certainly earned it."

Sloan's wife, Bobbye, is battling pancreatic cancer, a reality that potentially could prompt the Jazz coach to change his mind about returning. If that were to happen, though, no new-coach search would even need to be conducted, Miller suggested.

"We would do that unhesitatingly," he said. "I mean, you guys wouldn't even need to show up for the press conference. You could just say Larry Miller said to announce that Phil Johnson would be the new head coach.

"He's been so doggone-loyal," Miller added. "He's been here (16) years, and he's filled in for Jerry. . . . That's a real positive for us, because that way we don't have to make contingency plans."