When the Jazz franchise moved to Utah it had to hire a new coach and that person was Tom Nissalke.

The Utah Jazz announced he passed away Thursday at his home in Salt Lake City at the age of 87.

“The Miller Family, along with the Jazz organization, are saddened to hear about the passing of former head coach Tom Nissalke,” team owner Gail Miller said in a statement. “As our first head coach when the team moved in 1979 from New Orleans to Salt Lake City, he was instrumental in helping the franchise transition to its new home.

“We express our appreciation for all he did as the Jazz coach and for introducing the NBA to our community. Our thoughts are with Coach Nissalke’s daughter, son, grandchildren and friends during this time.”

Nissalke coached in both the NBA and ABA and won Coach of the Year honors in both leagues. He coached the Utah Stars from 1974-1976. He was with the Jazz from 1979-1981.

He went 60-124 in his time as the Jazz coach. However, some would argue that with the team low on finances and talent, it was a rough situation to come into. The team was not even expected to last in Utah.

After that he went to coach the Cleveland Cavaliers then ended his coaching career as an assistant with the Denver Nuggets.

Eventually Nissalke moved back to Utah to work as a radio analyst for Jazz games. He also did many community efforts in visiting the state prison once a week for nearly ten years.