You know, being the guy on the sidelines in Memphis is basically like trying to handle a live wire while standing in a puddle. It's high voltage, it’s messy, and honestly, it’s one of the most underrated pressure cookers in the NBA. People think of the "Grit and Grind" era as this peaceful, cohesive time, but the history of Memphis Grizzlies head coaches is actually a wild roadmap of sudden firings, bizarre transitions, and some of the most stubborn basketball minds to ever pick up a clipboard.
Most fans look at the win-loss columns and think they see the whole story. They don't. They miss the weirdness of the Tony Barone interim days or the fact that Lionel Hollins—the guy who literally defined Memphis basketball—was actually fired three different times if you count the interim stints and the non-renewals.
The Current State of the Sideline: Tuomas Iisalo
Right now, we are in the middle of a massive experiment. After the Taylor Jenkins era came to an abrupt halt in 2025, the front office pivoted to Tuomas Iisalo.
It was a move that caught a lot of people off guard. Iisalo, who was hired as the full-time head coach on May 2, 2025, isn't your typical "NBA lifer" retread. He’s the guy who dominated in Europe with Bonn and Paris, bringing a hyper-modern, high-efficiency system that looks nothing like the bruising ball of the 2010s.
As of early 2026, the Grizzlies are sitting at 17–22. That’s tenth in the West. It hasn't been a fairy tale. Transitioning from the Jenkins philosophy to Iisalo’s European-influenced spacing and pace has been, well, clunky. You’ve got players like Jaren Jackson Jr. and a returning Ja Morant trying to figure out where they fit in a system that demands a different kind of mental processing speed. Honestly, some nights it looks brilliant; other nights, it looks like they’re reading a playbook written in a language they haven't quite mastered yet.
Why Taylor Jenkins Still Matters
You can't talk about Memphis Grizzlies head coaches without giving Taylor Jenkins his flowers, even if things ended on a sour note.
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Jenkins is officially the winningest coach in franchise history. He hit 215 wins in November 2024, passing Lionel Hollins. He finished his tenure with a regular-season record of 250-214. That’s a .539 winning percentage. For a franchise that spent its early years in Vancouver literally being a punching bag for the rest of the league, those numbers are massive.
But here is what people get wrong about Jenkins: they think he was just a "players' coach." He wasn't. He was a system architect. He survived the transition from the end of the Mike Conley era into the Ja Morant explosion. He managed 56 wins in the 2021-22 season, tying the franchise record.
The downfall? Injuries and a lack of playoff "X and O" adjustments. When the Grizzlies lost to the Warriors in 2022 or struggled in later rounds, the criticism was always the same—could he win a chess match against a Steve Kerr or an Erik Spoelstra? Eventually, the front office decided the answer was "maybe not," and that’s how we ended up with Iisalo.
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The Mount Rushmore of Memphis Coaching
If you were to carve the faces of the most influential Memphis Grizzlies head coaches into a rock wall along the Mississippi River, you’d have a very strange collection of personalities.
- Hubie Brown (2002-2004): The legend. He’s the only coach in team history to win NBA Coach of the Year (2003-04). He took a team of "misfits" and played 10 guys deep, literally subbing out five players at a time. It was madness, and it worked.
- Lionel Hollins (Three separate stints): He is the soul of the franchise. 196 wins in his main run, but more importantly, he led the team to the Western Conference Finals in 2013. He didn't care about analytics. He cared about defense and making you miserable for 48 minutes.
- Mike Fratello (2004-2006): The "Czar." He brought a disciplined, slow-paced style that actually worked quite well, leading them to back-to-back winning seasons.
- Dave Joerger (2013-2016): Probably the most underrated. He had a .598 winning percentage, which is actually higher than Jenkins'. He was brilliant but notoriously difficult to work with, which led to his exit.
The Weird In-Between Years
We often forget the "bridge" coaches. Remember Marc Iavaroni? He came from the Seven Seconds or Less Suns and tried to make the Grizzlies run. It was a disaster. 33 wins and 90 losses.
Or how about Tony Barone? He was an interim coach who basically told the players to go out and have fun because the season was already lost. It was chaotic, but sort of endearing in a "Memphis vs. Errybody" kind of way. Then you had the David Fizdale era, which gave us the iconic "Take That For Data" quote before he clashed with Marc Gasol and got the boot.
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The Reality of the Job
What most people miss is that coaching in Memphis isn't just about the Xs and Os. It’s about cultural fit. This city doesn't want "pretty" basketball. They want "blue collar."
When J.B. Bickerstaff took over (2017-2019), he was essentially the cleanup crew after the Fizdale explosion. He went 48-97. It wasn't all his fault—the roster was a rotating door of G-League talent and aging vets—but it showed that if you don't have a clear identity in this building, the fans will tune you out fast.
Actionable Insights for the Future
If you are tracking the current trajectory of the Grizzlies' leadership, here is what you need to keep an eye on:
- Watch the Iisalo "Buy-In": The current .436 winning percentage isn't great, but look at the assist-to-turnover ratios. If those improve by the end of the 2025-26 season, Iisalo is safe. If the players start grumbling about the complexity of the offense, expect a mid-summer "parting of ways."
- The Defensive Identity: Memphis has slipped from its top-5 defensive rating days. Any future coach—or the current one—must fix the perimeter defense to compete with the likes of OKC or the Spurs.
- The "Winningest" Shadow: Don't let the 215 wins of Jenkins or the 214 of Hollins fool you. In Memphis, playoff series wins are the only currency that actually buys job security.
The history of Memphis Grizzlies head coaches is a reminder that in the NBA, you’re only as good as your last adjustment. Whether it's Hubie Brown’s 10-man rotation or Tuomas Iisalo’s space-age offense, the FedExForum has seen it all.
Check the box scores for the next ten games. If Iisalo can't get this team above .500 by the All-Star break, the conversation about the next name on this long list is going to start getting very loud in the local media.
Next Steps for the Fan:
To get a better handle on the current tactical shift, watch the Grizzlies' offensive spacing during their next home stand. Compare how often they are shooting within the first 8 seconds of the shot clock versus the Taylor Jenkins era. That's where you'll see the real impact of the coaching change.