Grizzlies Name Interim Head Coach After Suddenly Firing Taylor Jenkins

Tuomas Iisalo will succeed Taylor Jenkins in the Grizzlies' head coaching chair.

Tuomas Iisalo is the new, temporary head coach of the Memphis Grizzlies / Petre Thomas-Imagn Images

The Memphis Grizzlies shocked the basketball world on Friday when they suddenly fired head coach Taylor Jenkins. Shortly afterwards, the team reportedly decided on his temporary replacement.

Shortly after the news broke that Jenkins was out, ESPN's Shams Charania reported the Grizzlies had named Tuomas Iisalo the interim head coach for the franchise going forward. Iisalo, 42, was hired in July of 2024 by the Grizzlies and became the first Finnish-born coach in the NBA. Previously Iisalo coached in Germany in Bundesliga and spent the 2023-24 season coaching Paris Basketball in the Euroleague.

He has big shoes to fill and the pressure is on from this moment forward. Not only is Iisalo tasked with replacing Jenkins, who boasts the most wins out of any head coach in Grizzlies history, he also has to guide the roster through this significant change and adjust quickly enough for the postseason. Because that is the most stunning part of all this: the Grizzlies felt a change was so needed they pulled the trigger two weeks before the playoffs kick off.

Iisalo has a lot at stake in his first NBA head coaching gig. Time will tell if he does enough with the opportunity to be considered for the full-time role this offseason, when the Grizzlies undergo a full-fledged search for Jenkins's long-term successor.

---

More NBA on Sports Illustrated

feed