The Memphis Grizzlies fired Taylor Jenkins on Friday, moving from the franchise’s greatest coach ever in just nine games in the regular season.
The Grizzlies are 44-29, fifth in the Western Conference, but have lost five of the 19 and four of the 11 since the All-Star break.
In a statement, Grizzlies general manager Zach Kleiman did not detail why Memphis made the changes, but thanked Jenkins for being in charge of six seasons. This fire is a surprise given the timing, but multiple league sources were hoping that Memphis would change this offseason change due to growing frustration between Jenkins and the players, his assistants and the front office.
@memgrizz announced today that he has parted ways with head coach Taylor Jenkins. pic.twitter.com/92pak2nssn
– Grizzlies PR (@grizzliespr) March 28, 2025
Speculation that Star Ja Morant could be traded has grown to the point that Kleinman strongly denied the rumors in February.
According to league sources, Jenkins’ franchise leadership is unhappy with the date last summer. He was ordered to fire most of his coaching staff following a disastrous season for the Grizzlies, when two stars (Morant and Desmond Bain) missed 113 games and the team missed 27-55.
Coming this season, Jenkins hopes Memphis will detail his bold plans to play at breakneck speed and leverage their core athletic ability – Morant, Bain, Jalen Jackson Jr. On multiple occasions, Morant was seen discussing with Jenkins about bystanders about rotation, replacement patterns and offensive play calls.
The 25-year-old Morant is a two-time All-Star and was in the All-NBA from 2021-22, but his numbers for this season have slipped. He averages 22.3 points per game with 44.9% shooting from the field, his lowest since 2020-21. His 3.7 turnovers per game are a higher career despite averaging the minimum minutes of his career.
The Grizzlies were injured again by key players this season – Morant appeared in just 43 games, but came in second in the busy West two weeks ago. They were then slammed at home by Cleveland and have been in the tailspin ever since.
Memphis is tied to seventh place, 2½ games ahead of the La Clippers and Golden State Warriors. Teams 7th to 10th place must participate in the playoffs via the play-in tournament. The Grizzlies will try to avoid a little more than two weeks left in the season as they consolidate interim coaches that were not announced immediately.
The Grizzlies have won three postseasons under Jenkins, including a 50-win season in 2021-22 and 2022 23rd. Jenkins, 40, scored a regular season record of 250-214, but was 9-14 in the playoffs.
(Photo: Soobum Im/Getty Images)
