The Memphis Grizzlies announced the firing of head coach Taylor Jenkins on Friday (March 28), despite currently holding the fifth seed in the Western Conference with nine games remaining in the regular season.
Jenkins, 40, is the winningest coach in franchise history with a 206-185 record in five seasons, which includes a 44-29 record through their first 73 games of the 2024-25 NBA season.
“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 in a statement shared on the team's official website. “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 was reportedly called into the Grizzlies' office and fired in person, sources with knowledge of the situation confirmed to ESPN's Shams Charania.
"Taylor Jenkins was called into the Grizzlies office this morning and was fired in person, sources tell ESPN. Stunning dismissal. Jenkins now becomes one of the top head coaching candidates for the upcoming cycle. He had a .539 winning percentage as Grizzlies coach," Charania wrote on his X account.
The Grizzlies will host the Los Angeles Lakers on Saturday (March 29) at FedEx Forum and the Golden State Warriors on Tuesday (April 1) before road matchups against the Miami Heat (April 3), Detroit Pistons (April 5) and Charlotte Hornets (April 8), a home matchup against the Minnesota Timberwolves (April 10), a road matchup against the Denver Nuggets (April 11) and a home matchup against the Dallas Mavericks (April 13) to conclude the regular season.