One of the biggest headlines to pass across the NBA news cycle this past week was the jarring firing of Memphis Grizzlies head coach Taylor Jenkins, the leader of the team’s operation for the past six years who was suddenly canned with less than a month of the regular season to go, despite his team being on the verge of their fourth playoff appearance under his watch.
It was one of the most unexpected coaching moves in recent NBA history, and a decision that got many around the league talking about the Grizzlies’ choice to move off of Jenkins so close to their hopeful postseason run.
Among those in the mix to chime in on the Grizzlies’ firing was Utah Jazz head coach Will Hardy, who was equally shocked at the move to get Jenkins out the door.
“I get it. If you don’t like 50-win seasons, and your team getting better every year, and obvious development of your young players, navigating tough moments with your group, then sure, I get why Taylor [Jenkins] was fired,” Hardy said. “But, it’s a weird business, and I think there’s weird decisions made all the time. If you ask any coach in the NBA, Taylor’s one of the coaches we all respect. He does a hell of a job. His team’s always hard to play against. There’s decisions that are made sometimes in this league that make no sense to those of us that knows what’s going on, and this is one of them.”
So far this season, the Grizzlies have collected a 44-30 record to place within the top-five of a tough, competitive Western Conference, which would leave most to believe that the head coach guiding the way would have a safe and secure job position, at least until the season’s end.
Instead, Memphis will now have a new face in interim head coach Tuomas Iisalo leading for the team for the last few weeks of the season, somewhat acting as a trial run ahead of a potential coaching search this offseason.
Regardless of what the logistics behind the Grizzlies’ decision may be, Hardy doesn’t see the coaching change adding up. But still, the Jazz head coach sees Jenkins being successful wherever he may end up next.
“Taylor’s a hell of a coach,” Hardy continued. “I have no doubt he has a very bright future whatever happens for him next, but that was one of the ones where, when it was sent to me, I did the zoom in to make sure the Twitter handle wasn’t one letter misspelled, like it was a spam account, because that one makes no sense to me. I don’t understand what the standards are anymore, and the timing of it makes less sense to me.”
The good thing for Coach Hardy remains that he’s established within his own strong and secure situation in Utah, seemingly aligned well on the same page with the Jazz front office and ownership, all with one main goal to get this group back to contention as soon as possible.
It’s undoubtedly a wild league unfolding with each passing day, but at least when it comes to the Jazz, they seem to have their ducks in a row for the long-haul.
Follow Utah Jazz On SI on Facebook and Twitter/X and Subscribe on YouTube for breaking Jazz news videos and live streams!
