Coach Pop signs record-breaking deal with San Antonio Spurs

Gregg "Pop" Popovich has been the San Antonio Spurs' head coach since 1996. He just signed a new three-year deal with the team, allowing him to set a new tenure record. It also ensures that he remains the highest-paid coach in the NBA.

As of now, he is the longest-tenured coach for a single franchise in NBA history with 24 seasons. He broke the deadlock with Utah Jazz coach Jerry Sloan, with whom he was tied at 23 seasons. According to My San Antonio, the new three-year deal will give him 26 years, assuming nothing unfortunate happens.

Coach Pop certainly deserves it. San Antonio may not be the powerhouse that it once was during the Tim Duncan, Tony Parker days, but Coach Pop certainly has a long list of achievements. He led a young Spurs team captained by an aging David Robinson to five NBA championships during his watch.

They won 5 out of 6 finals appearances. The latest one was just back in 2014. It goes to show that Coach Pop still has what it takes to build a team and bring it to NBA glory. Popovich is now 70. He will most likely keep the record for a long time. 24 years at the helm of an NBA team is not a joke. To put it in perspective, when he started coaching for the Spurs, players such as Donovan Mitchell, Giannis Antetokounmpo, and Ben Simmons were not even born.

The question here is if it's worth it to keep him longer. San Antonio management definitely thinks so. The three-year contract just goes to show how much they trust their highly-paid head coach. Modern coaching staffs have 10-12 coaches supporting the team. It is not that difficult to promote one from the ranks but they decided to stick with their tried and tested veteran.

San Antonio placed 5th in the Western Conference last year. That's a far cry from their early 2000 dominance. They opened up this season with a win against the Wizards, which doesn't really say much. General Manager Brian Wright hopes that Coach Pop will be enough to "mature" the young Spurs in the next three years. He is hoping to repeat what he did with a young team in 1996, which won their first championship by 1999.

That would be exciting to see, considering they are in the same conference as OKC, the Lakers, and Golden State.