Memphis Grizzlies introduce new head coach - Dave Joerger

The Memphis Grizzlies officially have a new head coach. Grizzlies CEO Jason Levien formally crowned previous assistant Dave Joerger as the man in charge this afternoon. It was a brief presser, but Levien and Joerger got across a strong message of positivity, excitement and progression.

I highly recommend watching and/or listening to the footage. It should still be posted here.

Some bullet points I jotted down during the press conference:

• Levien mentioned how much Joerger stood out from the other candidates - even though they were all quality
• Joerger is very excited about the vision the front office has planned for the next several years
• Levien says the decision to promote Joerger is very popular in the locker room
• Joerger says he has been preparing for this job for a long time; is still on good terms with Lionel
• Levien has followed Joerger's career for a while now... going back to his minor league tenure.
• Dave Joerger seems tailor made for this ownership group - it's kinda scary.
• Joerger mentions wanting to get the Grizzlies "faster" and to use the defensive intensity on the offensive end as well
• Joergermeister really seems like a part of the city already, he appears to be a genuine Memphian.
• Levien harped on Dave's embracing of "best practices" and his aggressive approach on innovation.

I don't know about you guys, but I'm pretty stoked right now. Levien is well documented as a spinster wordsmith (like the inflation of Joerger's minor league "championships"), but the Pera/Levien vision is continuing it's assertion and definition with some really great ideas. I'm not totally convinced that Dave Joerger isn't a Manchurian candidate that Jason Levien started training 30 years ago - and I mean that in a good way.

I'll post some more updates as analysis and interviews continue throughout the day via radio, etc.