A legend in Salt Lake City and a beloved NBA executive, Frank Layden, passed away on July 9, 2025. He was 93. Frank Layden was iconic for his kind personality during his tenure at the Utah Jazz. He arrived in the city with the very team and remained here with his wife, Barbara, till his death. This man was not only present when the Utah Jazz literally came into existence, but he was also the one to grow it. He’s especially memorable for taking a chance on people by giving them jobs within the organization. His passing strikes those who were helped by this legend and extends beyond the Jazz fraternity.

Younger fans might not remember the days when Frank Layden was a fixture on the sidelines, calling out plays. My guy knew what NBA viewers wanted. He once challenged his player, Bobby Hansen, to make Michael Jordan bleed. Hansen came back angry at his coach because “Michael’s beating the [expletive] out of me.” Layden probably didn’t regret the show it made.

The New York native was an assistant for the Atlanta Hawks when he interviewed for the New Orleans Jazz. At that time, he didn’t understand why the interview was in Salt Lake City, Utah, until he got the job.

“For those who didn’t know who he was, I don’t know that we’d be here without him,” former Jazz owner Gail Miller said about Layden, who was appointed as the head coach of the team in 1981 when it moved from New Orleans to Utah. But he was doing general manager duties then too, and was touted as a one-man PR machine.

Ironically, he told the organization when it was moving to Utah, “There’s nobody here who’s going to come to your games,” and said, “You can’t support a big league team here. You’ve got a crummy arena.” Then owner Sam Battistone said, “I know — that’s why we’re hiring you.”

Layden set to work, made a broke Utah team look like a winner with sellout crowds. Truthfully, at the start, he admitted giving tickets to homeless people to fill in the stands.

He was a game-changer, anyway. Within three years of stepping in as coach, the Jazz made the playoffs. That same year, he coached the NBA All-Star Game and was named NBA Coach of the Year and Executive of the Year. Even after he grew tired of coaching, he stayed on as an executive and mentored generations of Jazz execs. He received the NBA’s Lifetime Achievement Award, and his name hangs in the rafters of Delta Center alongside other Jazz legends.

Frank Layden remembered for his legendary moments

The Utah Jazz and the NBA announced his passing on Wednesday. “Frank Layden made a lasting impact on the Jazz, the state of Utah, and the NBA,” the Jazz said in a statement Wednesday. “There will never be another like him. Our thoughts go out to his family as we join in mourning his loss and celebrating his life. Rest easy, Coach.”

Danny Ainge, former NBA player and current CEO of the Utah Jazz, wrote, “A Legend, who always made me smile🙏🏻#RIP Coach Layden.” 

Almost instantly, those who knew him remembered his sideline humor. Like when the Jazz was seconds from a blowout loss to the Lakers in 1985, Layden left the game early, passing the Lakers bench, and even stupefied Pat Riley when he said he was going out to grab a BLT. Today, fans will remember his offbeat persona in comments like this, “A legend on the court and a comedian off it. Rest easy, coach 🕊️”

As much as he loved and sacrificed for the Jazz, Layden never liked sticking around when things were drab. One time, when the Jazz were getting a beating, he tried to antagonize the famous NBA referee, Earl Strom, to get ejected just so he could beat the traffic of spectators going home. Onto his antics, Strom told him, “I know what you’re trying to do, Frank. But if I’ve got to stay out here and watch this s—, so do you.”

Layden raised his family in Utah, but by his own reckoning, he wasn’t a present father. The regret over missing his children’s milestones lingered. However, several stories now resurface of how he inspired youth through his college talks.

One old acquaintance of Layden recalled, “The inimitable Frank Kayden once agreed to address a journalism class I was teaching at the University of Utah. I asked if he could speak for 15-30 minutes. He arrived and spoke for two hours. He had them spellbound. Twice later he asked in his gravelly voice… are you still teaching your class? ‘Yes.’ ‘Mark me down,’ he would say. He spoke two other times to classes of mine, two hours each. He spoke of the responsibility of voting, making others better, Jackie Robinson, the privileges of being Americans and attending college.”

Layden mentored several people within the Jazz organization and its media extensions. One recalled, “My heart is broken, w/ the passing away of my friend Frank Layden. Former HC/GM of the Utah Jazz, in 1984 was honored as NBA’s Coach/Executive of the year. Frank hired me in 1989, for the Jazz, and I’m forever grateful. Brooklyn, N.Y. and Niagara U proud, R.I.P. in hoop heaven!”

Layden passed away in Salt Lake City, where he lived with his wife and kids. Tributes continue to pour in as fans have even gathered at Delta Center, where his legacy is forever immortalized in the rafters.