The Grizzles Receive Another massive Shock After A devastating Game Against The Oklahoma City Thunder
Just before noon on Friday, the Grizzlies announced the dismissal of head coach Taylor Jenkins, along with assistant coaches Noah LaRoche and Patrick St. Andrews.
This decision follows a disappointing 125-104 defeat against the Oklahoma City Thunder on Thursday night.
Here’s the official statement:
With just nine games remaining in the regular season and the team striving to avoid the play-in tournament, this doesn’t seem like the ideal moment to fire the head coach. Yet here we are.
An interim coach hasn’t been officially appointed, but current lead assistant Tuomas Iisalo is the frontrunner for the position.
Throughout the season, fans and analysts have called for Jenkins’ dismissal at various times; while this news may be surprising to some, it isn’t entirely unexpected.
The team has clearly struggled since the All-Star break, reflected in their 8-11 record, suggesting Jenkins has lost the players’ confidence. Once that trust is gone, repairing the coach-player relationship becomes extremely difficult.
Jenkins was hired during the 2019 offseason as part of a leadership change when Zach Kleiman took over as general manager from longtime GM Chris Wallace. This transition marked the end of the Grit and Grind era, highlighted by the trades of Marc Gasol and Mike Conley, the last two members of the team’s Core Four that brought them into prominence.
Overall, Jenkins’ tenure has been largely positive, driven by the acquisition of star-level talent and the solid drafting and development of reliable role players—factors that are largely beyond his influence.
Would Jenkins be as successful coaching a team without the Grizzlies’ key trio of Jaren Jackson Jr., Ja Morant, and Desmond Bane? The answer is likely no.
Retaining a head coach who seems to have hit his limit could be detrimental to the team now and in the future. Given the injuries they’ve faced, the Grizzlies weren’t set to contend for a championship this year anyway. Thus, while the timing of this decision is not ideal, such a significant personnel change this close to the playoffs doesn’t necessarily preclude the team from raising a championship banner in FedExForum down the line.
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