He played in college as a quarterback at the University of Alabama from 1962 to 1965 and then spent two seasons in the National Football League (NFL) with the Atlanta Falcons (1966–1967).
Sloan then returned to his alma mater as an assistant coach (1968-1970), and then served one year each as an offensive coordinator at Florida State (1971) and Georgia Tech (1972).
[4] Sloan attended Bradley County High School where he was the quarterback on the football team, and also played baseball, basketball, and golf.
[5] While at Bradley, Sloan earned all-state honors in football and basketball and was named one of the top prep golfers in the state.
[6] Sloan played college football at the University of Alabama under legendary coach Paul "Bear" Bryant between 1962 and 1965.
He arrived in Tuscaloosa in 1962, though was not eligible to play with the varsity team due to National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) rules at the time.
[5] In his sophomore season with the Crimson Tide, Sloan was a backup to quarterback Joe Namath, but played in most games at defensive back.
Sloan quarterbacked the Tide's final regular season game and the Sugar Bowl when Bryant benched Namath for disciplinary reasons.
The Texas Tech University athletic department offered Sloan head football coaching position in January 1975.
In late 1977, Sloan took his third head coaching job with the Ole Miss Rebels football program.