Mavs' president on Rick Carlisle: 'He can be in Dallas as long as he wants to be'

Job security within the NBA coaching ranks is like a mirage in the desert - illusory and elusive for the majority of bench bosses throughout the league. Consider Dallas Mavericks head coach Rick Carlisle one of the lucky ones to have sipped from the refreshing oasis of vocational guarantee.

Dallas's president of basketball operations, Donnie Nelson, has given his coach the ultimate vote of confidence. In a conversation with Mavs beat writer Earl K. Sneed after the team's first-round playoff exit, Nelson intimated that Carlisle need not worry about searching for a new gig.

"Rick is our Jerry Sloan," Nelson said. "I think he's one of the top coaches in the league, if not the top coach. We're blessed and lucky to have him. He can be in Dallas as long as he wants to be."

Comparing Carlisle to Jerry Sloan is mighty high praise. But before you scoff at such a parallel, consider Carlisle's track record:

• Second-longest tenured (active) head coach in the league - tied with Miami Heat's Erik Spoelstra, trails San Antonio Spurs' Gregg Popovich.
• One of just 11 people in NBA history to win a championship as both a head coach (2011) and a player ('86 Celtics).
• Has an accumulated winning percentage of .604 throughout his seven season with the Mavs.
• Recorded his 600th win as a head coach on Jan. 30, 2015 (Detroit Pistons '01-'03, Indiana Pacers '03-'07 and Mavericks '08-present) and is currently 23rd on the list of all-time career wins (619).
• Needs just two wins to surpass Don Nelson (339) for most regular-season wins in Mavs franchise history

Granted, Jerry Sloan's face arguably belongs on the Mount Rushmore of modern-day NBA coaches due to his impressive and lengthy term as Utah Jazz head coach (1988-2011), but Carlisle does have one thing Sloan does not:

Carlisle's response to his boss's stamp of approval: "Because of Mark Cuban and Donnie and Dirk (Nowitzki) and (Jason) Kidd and (Tyson) Chandler, I'm a championship coach. That doesn't happen at just anywhere you go. I appreciate (Nelson's) sentiment. The feeling is mutual, and so we'll go from here."