The Greatest Head Coach for the Utah Jazz

The Utah Jazz became a part of the NBA in 1974, but back then they were known as the New Orleans Jazz. The organization's greatest NBA achievement is two Western Conference Finals in 1997 and 1998. There have been only seven head coaches to ever coach for the Jazz and only two have managed to bring the team to the playoffs. The top three greatest head coaches for the Utah Jazz are Elgin Baylor, Frank Layden and Jerry Sloan.

No. 3: Elgin Baylor (1974 & 1976 - 1979)

Elgin Baylor spent his entire NBA coaching career with the Utah Jazz. Despite his best efforts after being promoted to head coach from the assistant head coaching position, he achieved a record of 86-135. He coached the team in 220 regular season games and with a winning percentage of (.391).

No. 2: Frank Layden (1981 - 1988)

Frank Layden won the Coach of the Year Award in the 1983-84 season and is the only Jazz coach to achieve the honor. Besides Jerry Sloan he is the only other coach to carry the Jazz to the playoffs. Layden coached in 41 careerplayoff games, but his postseason winning percentage was just (.439). He is second on the All-Time list for most regular season games coached for the Jazz with 571, winning 294 of them. Frank Layden is currently the only Utah head coach to have a number retired.

No. 1: Jerry Sloan (1988 - 2011)

Jerry Sloan led the Jazz in 1,673 regular season games, which is the most ever for a Jazz head coach by some margin. He also has the most regular season wins at 1,043 and the highest winning percentage at (.623). Coach Sloan is easily the most successful coach for the Jazz in terms of playoff appearances. He coached the Jazz to 186 playoff games, winning 92 of them at a winning percentage of (.495). Jerry Sloan was the first coach in NBA history to lead a single team to 1,000 wins. The prolific coaching individual has written his name in the history of American professional sports for the most consecutive seasons of coaching the same team, as he spent 21 such season with the Jazz. He was elected into the Hall of Fame as a coach in 2009 and is the only Jazz to receive that honor.

Jerry Sloan labored 21 long seasons for the Utah Jazz and is a remarkable individual whose personality cannot be questioned. Jerry Sloan is more than deserving of being the greatest head coach for the Utah Jazz.