Though there was much speculation of this being the Boston Celtics head coach’s last season, Doc Rivers has verbally agreed to return to coach the C’s for another five years for a total of $35 million, according to the Boston Globe.

Many had thought that Rivers would step away from the NBA for a year at least, to spend time with his family.

And yet, instead of retiring, Rivers is sticking around for another five years with the Celtics to continue chasing another title.

With most of the Celtics’ starters aging, the window for that goal is closing after last week’s loss in the second round to the Miami Heat. The Big Three are a combined 102 years old and aren’t getting any younger.

However, Rajon Rondo is a premier point guard and is extremely talented, even with one arm, as we saw in the Celtics’ last few games. Surely his relationship with Doc had an impact on his decision to take the contract extension.

And even though the Celtics look to be on the downswing in their chances for a title with the current roster, Rivers is still an elite coach who can lead them to more rings. He gets his players to execute well and buy into a winning system. All in all, he’s one of the best coaches still in the league and the Celtics have to be glad he’s returning.