The Memphis Grizzlies announced Friday morning that they’ve parted ways with head coach Taylor Jenkins. It’s a shocking announcement with just nine games left of the regular season and the Grizzlies sitting fifth in the Western Conference. Assistant coach Tuomas Iisalo will fill in as the team’s interim head coach, per ESPN.
“I’m genuinely appreciative of Taylor’s contributions to this team and this city over the past six seasons,” Grizzlies president Zach Kleiman said in a statement. “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.”
Jenkins has been the head coach of the Grizzlies since the 2019-2020 season. He’s amassed a 250-214 (.539) record and is the winningest coach in franchise history, leading Memphis to the postseason three times. He’s the longest-tenured head coach without a title, with Gregg Popovich, Steve Kerr, Erik Spoelstra and Michael Malone being the only other active coaches who have been with their team longer.
Under Jenkins’ leadership, the Grizzlies missed the playoffs twice, and last year’s absence doesn’t really count, given Ja Morant’s season-ending injury and other lengthy injuries to key players in their rotation.
This season, they managed to turn things around with a healthier roster, climbing as high as the No. 2 spot in the West. However, as of late, Memphis has struggled, going just 2-4 in their last six games. There was also a recent dust-up between Desmond Bane and Santi Aldama on the bench during a timeout, which resulted in Bane shoving Aldama so hard that he lost his balance and fell back onto the chair. Though, those don’t seem to be reason enough to fire a coach who has otherwise been incredibly successful during his time with the team, especially at this point in the season, right before the playoffs start.
Given the stunning timing of the announcement, there’s not much information about why the Grizzlies decided to part ways, but we’ll surely get more insight soon enough. For now, Memphis will finish out the rest of the season with an interim head coach who has yet to be named.
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