With just nine games remaining in the regular season, the Memphis Grizzlies are parting ways with head coach Taylor Jenkins. Memphis sits in fifth place in the Western Conference with a 44-29 overall record and will now finish the final stretch and enter the playoffs without Jenkins calling the shots.
As the statement released via Grizzlies’ PR states, “I’m genuinely appreciative of Taylor’s contributions to this team and this city over the past six seasons,” said Grizzlies President and GM of Basketball Operations Zach Kleiman.
“This was a difficult decision, given the consistent and tangible development of our players and overall success under Taylor’s leadership. I wish Taylor the very best going forward.”
The timing of the move makes this especially shocking. Taylor Jenkins was in his sixth season as the Grizzlies’ head coach and had led the franchise to some success. Memphis went 250-214 (.539) under his watch and qualified for the playoffs each of the past three seasons. They were just weeks away from his fourth straight playoff opportunity and right in the mix of the competitive Western Conference. The team has not gone into any more detail about the reason for the decision to make the coaching change or the timing of this occurring, which is worth noting moving forward.
Memphis will now continue looking to make some noise in the playoffs with a new voice in charge. Tuomas Iisalo is the most common name theorized to step into the interim head coaching role, but there has not been an announcement just yet. It is worth noting Memphis made some significant shake-ups to the coaching staff this past offseason, which may have been some foreshadowing to what just occurred.
At just 40 years old, expect Jenkins to be one of the most highly desired coaching targets on the market this offseason.
