Like any regular Friday, Taylor Jenkins was going about his day, but the Memphis front office had different plans for the coach. When he was called in, he likely didn’t expect that his time with the franchise would suddenly come to an end. But that’s how unpredictable life can be. And GMs can be. This news shocked not only him but the entire community. And immediately, speculations began to surface, as no reasons were given by the Grizzlies for his dismissal. Now, another such prediction has emerged along with some unknown details, and this one can’t be entirely dismissed.
When the topic came up on SiriusXM Radio, Fred Katz offered a possible reason behind the sudden decision. “They felt like they were too good and it was working. And yeah, the writing may have been on the wall,” the journalist stated. “And before this year, the front office, kind of cleaned out the assistant coaching staff and brought, you know, helped hire six new assistant coaches, got rid of five before the season began. Whenever a coach doesn’t get to choose his own assistant coaching staff, that’s kind of a red flag for that coach’s future.”
He believed that, although the team was performing well under Jenkins this season, the dismissal could indicate that this outcome had been in the works for quite some time now. Katz then pointed out that the front office made changes to the assistant coaching staff before the season, replacing five of them and bringing in six new ones. That definitely is a huge problem if the coach doesn’t get to choose his staff. But that wasn’t the sole reason.
Katz further added, “There was a point not that long ago when the Grizzlies were 35 and 16, they were second in the West. They were winning a lot. And now they’re at a point right now where they’ve lost 14 of their last 23 games. They haven’t beaten a team over 500 for 10 consecutive games, which I know something that the organization looked at is like, oh no, this is a real problem. And they’re about 20th in defense over this stretch as well, when the defense was basically top five for the first half of the season.”
Why did the Memphis Grizzlies make a coaching change nine games before the playoffs?@FredKatz gives one possible reason with @talkhoops and @VinceGoodwill pic.twitter.com/b72fsJqOeK
— SiriusXM NBA Radio (@SiriusXMNBA) March 30, 2025
After their dominant second-seed position in the West, the Grizzlies dropped to the fifth spot, which probably became a major concern for the franchise, as suggested by The Athletic reporter. So, he thinks the Grizzlies decided to make a change now, rather than waiting until the offseason, because they wanted to address it before the playoffs.
Apart from this theory, another one emerged where fans were largely blaming Ja Morant for having an influence on the decision. After all the speculation, he has finally broken his silence.
Ja Morant shares his true feelings about Taylor Jenkins
Following the incident, the team was set to face the Lakers on Saturday, adding to the already mounting chaos within the franchise. The game ended in a 134-127 loss, further intensifying the frustration. After the game, Ja Morant spoke out about Taylor Jenkins.
“It’s tough for me, I’ve had Coach Taylor since I got here,” Morant told the media. “Everything I’ve done in a Grizzlies jersey has been under him. It’s my first time really experiencing a coach leaving since I’ve been hooping. It was a lot to process. We had to quickly turn the page to the Lakers, and that’s just the business part of the NBA.”
This is a developing story…
The post Why Was Memphis HC Taylor Jenkins Fired? After Ja Morant’s Confession, Reason for Grizzlies’ Shock Decision Revealed appeared first on EssentiallySports.
