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According to Adrian Wojnarowski, the Grizzlies have already started to secure access and gauge interest in a new head coach, centering on former Indiana Pacers coach Frank Vogel, who was not retained on Thursday.
From Woj:
The Memphis Grizzlies have begun making contact with several head-coaching candidates, as well as the representatives of Frank Vogel, league sources told The Vertical.
The preliminary stages of Memphis’ search to replace Dave Joerger include Vogel – the former Indiana Pacers coach – who used the weekend to decompress after losing his job on Thursday, league sources said.
Vogel plans to start evaluating head-coaching opportunities early this week, league sources said.
Vogel is a good choice to replace Joerger, as he has experience with a successful team and would fit the defensive culture of the Grizzlies. Whether he will take the job or not may be a telling sign for the Grizzlies, especially about the status on Mike Conley or how willing the front office is to grab a quality candidate. David Aldridge tweeted this on Saturday:
Vogel also has ties to Grizz GM Chris Wallace; Vogel’s first NBA job was in video room for Rick Pitino in Boston while Wallace was GM there.
— David Aldridge (@daldridgetnt) May 7, 2016
Vogel definitely on Grizz radar, but Memphis knows his NY ties & if Knicks are serious about him, Grizz can’t/won’t get into bidding war.
— David Aldridge (@daldridgetnt) May 7, 2016
That doesn't sound hopeful. Maybe they will open the wallet and get a quality guy.
Woj also lists two other interesting pieces of information concerning the Grizzlies front office search. First, it appears that both Grizzlies General Manager Chris Wallace and assistant General manager Ed Stephanski will be leading the search. Second, the Grizzlies have already reached out to the representatives of the following coaches: former Phoenix Suns coach Jeff Hornacek, San Antonio assistant coach Ettore Messina (as suggested by our own Kevin Yueng on Saturday), associate head coach for the Charlotte Hornets Patrick Ewing, Trailblazers assistant coach Nate Tibbets, and Miami Heat assistant coach David Fizdale.
There is also this hilarious statement from anyone who has been following the dealings of the Grizzlies front office:
Memphis wants to transform its player-development program
HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA
Meanwhile, it appears indeed that former head coach Dave Jeorger will be at the least considered for the head coaching job with the Sacramento Kings. Good luck with that.