"I'm No Longer Coach. I'm El Jefe" - In His First Appearance Since His Stroke, Gregg Popovich Had The Perfect Announcement Of His New Role With The Spurs

David Dow. Getty Images.

When the news broke that Pop was officially stepping down as the Head Coach of the Spurs after a historic 29 year run, even though most probably expected that to happen, it was still weird as hell to see. For the majority (if not all) of our lives, Pop has been on the sidelines so it's only natural that things will feel a little weird now that he's moved upstairs. Given his health scares and all that he's given to the game and that franchise, I'd say he's allowed to do whatever the hell he wants. If that was continuing to coach, cool. If that meant going upstairs and where he can now utilize his basketball mind to help push the organization forward, cool. 

One of the more underrated aspects of Pop is that the dude is funny as hell. Between how he would joke with the media during his in-game interviews, to how he interacts with players, I could make the case that despite Pop being one of the greatest basketball coaches on earth, he's an even better human.

Take how he went about his presser today announcing this new decision. It was perfectly Pop

You can see the impact his medical issues have had, and even still, he's finding ways to make jokes and have a good time like only Pop can. To be honest, El Jefe is the perfect title for him at this stage of his career. Granted, I could argue he's always been the "boss", even when he was coaching, but there's something about him busting that out while in his new role that just feels right. 

When it comes to his replacement, the Spurs decided to keep things in house by making Mitch Johnson their full time coach after he took over on an interim basis once Pop went out. While that has to be an impossible task to follow such a legend, it has to feel incredible to know that Pop signed off on it

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Now they'll work together to usher in this new era of Spurs basketball, and the good news is their future looks bright as hell, and that's even without whatever happens this summer. While some may not like the move because interim coaches rarely work out once they get the gig full time, it does feel like the Spurs are different. Their entire thing is being a family. Doing things "The Spurs Way". Look who's around Pop at this presser! Sometimes, if you believe you have the right guy, there's nothing wrong with keeping these things in house. Just ask Brad Stevens how Joe Mazzulla is doing. With Pop in the mix, there's no reason to think Mitch Johnson can't be great. 

He may not end up being Pop, because no one will ever be Pop. That's fine. As a Spurs fan, all I would think about right now is if Pop was that good as the coach, just imagine what's coming now that he's El Jefe