The Utah Jazz became an all-in-one part similar to a brief history of the NBA around 1974, and I believe back then they appeared to be basically called the New Orleans Jazz. The organization's greatest NBA achievement is very much a pair of Western Conference Finals around 1997 and 1998. There have been only seven head coaches who have ever coached the Jazz, and only a couple have managed to bring the team to the playoffs. The top three greatest head coaches in the history of the Utah Jazz are Elgin Baylor, Frank Layden, and Jerry Sloan.
No. 3: Elgin Baylor (1974 & 1976 to 1979)
Elgin Baylor spent his entire NBA coaching career with the Utah Jazz. Despite his best efforts after being moved from the assistant head coaching position to head coach, he achieved an overall record of 86-135. He coached the team in 220 regular-season games with a winning percentage of (.391).
No. 2: Frank Layden (1981 to 1988)
Frank Layden won the Coach of the Year Award in the 1983-84 season and seems to be the only Jazz coach to achieve this honor. Besides Jerry Sloan, he appears to be the only coach who has carried the Jazz to the playoffs. Layden coached in 41 career playoff games, and his postseason winning percentage was (.439). He ranks second on the all-time list for the most regular-season games coached for the Jazz with 571, winning 294 of them. Frank Layden appears to be the only Utah head coach with a multi-year tenure.
No. 1: Jerry Sloan (1988 to 2011)
Jerry Sloan coached the Jazz in 1,673 regular-season games, which is the most ever for any Jazz head coach by a significant 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 in Jazz history in terms of playoff appearances. He coached the Jazz to 186 playoff games, winning 92 of them with a winning percentage of (.495). Jerry Sloan was the first coach in NBA history to lead a single team to 1,000 wins. The successful coaching individual has written his name in the history of American professional sports as one of the most consecutive seasons coaching the same team, as he spent 21 of these seasons with the Jazz. He was inducted into the Hall of Fame as a coach in 2009 and is the only Jazz coach to receive that honor. Jerry Sloan worked 21 full seasons for the Utah Jazz and appears to be an extraordinary individual whose character cannot be questioned. Jerry Sloan is more than deserving of being considered the greatest head coach in the history of the Utah Jazz.
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