Taylor Jenkins had coached the Memphis Grizzlies since 2019, leading them to the playoffs three times. (Rob Gray/AP)
The Memphis Grizzlies abruptly fired longtime coach Taylor Jenkins with just nine games remaining in the regular season, the team announced Friday.
Jenkins, 40, departs with a 250-214 (.539) record across six seasons with Memphis. The Grizzlies hired Jenkins to his first NBA head coaching job in 2019 after stints as an assistant with the Atlanta Hawks and Milwaukee Bucks, and he delivered two 50-win campaigns and three playoff appearances. The Grizzlies (44-29) entered Friday tied for fourth in the Western Conference standings.
“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.”
Lead assistant Tuomas Iisalo, a Finnish coach who joined the Grizzlies last summer after coaching Paris Basketball in France’s top professional league, was named interim coach, according to people with knowledge of the situation.
Jenkins brought a hardworking, no-nonsense ethos to the Grizzlies, who won 33 games and were in the midst of a rebuilding transition when they hired him to develop a young core that included Ja Morant, Jaren Jackson Jr. and later Desmond Bane. The Grizzlies peaked under Jenkins with 56 wins in 2021-22, when they won their first playoff series since 2014-15 and Jenkins finished second in coach of the year voting.
Memphis’s climb was then derailed by Morant’s two lengthy gun-related suspensions and a season-ending shoulder injury last season. The Grizzlies lost in the first round of the 2023 playoffs with Morant’s first suspension still looming over the team, and they missed the playoffs in 2024 as their star point guard played only nine games because of his second suspension and the shoulder injury.
As they grappled with Morant’s continued absences, the Grizzlies changed much of their coaching staff last summer and adopted a faster style this season. Memphis ranked sixth in offensive efficiency and first in pace, though mounting injuries have contributed to a late-season slump. The Grizzlies have posted a 6-8 record in March, and Bane shoved teammate Santi Aldama during an in-game argument this week.
Memphis’s shifting offensive approach, favored by Iisalo, sought better ball movement and de-emphasized Morant’s role. Morant, 25, has seen his scoring, shot attempts and minutes drop while he battled several injuries this season. The two-time all-star has missed Memphis’s past six games with a hamstring injury.
Jenkins, who departs as the winningest coach in franchise history, began his career as an intern for the San Antonio Spurs and later coached the Spurs’ G League affiliate. Spurs Coach Gregg Popovich has been sidelined since suffering a mild stroke in November, and Jenkins, who will be one of the most accomplished coaches on the market this summer, could emerge as a possible Popovich successor, according to people with knowledge of the situation.