No reason to panic about Grizzlies next coach
In 2002, Jerry West stunned the NBA universe by hiring Hubie Brown to coach the Memphis Grizzlies. Brown hadn't been an NBA head coach in 15 seasons. There was no way it could possibly work. Brown went on to win 50 games and guide the Grizzlies into the playoffs. He was named NBA Coach of the Year.
In 2009, Mike Heisley decided to follow his instincts and hire Lionel Hollins to coach the Grizzlies. Hollis was a career assistant who had never impressed anyone enough to get a head coaching gig. Heisley didn't even give him a two-year contract. There was no way it could possibly work. Hollins went on to win 56 games and guide the Grizzlies into the Western Conference Finals. He's the most successful coach the franchise has ever had.
In 2007, Heisley did exactly what all the experts said he should do and hired Marc Iavaroni to coach the Grizzlies. Iavaroni was an assistant with the wildly successful Phoenix Suns. He was the hottest assistant coach in the NBA. There was no way it could possibly fail. Iavaroni went on to go 33-90 in less than two seasons. He was the worst coach the Memphis Grizzlies have ever had.
Even when you think you do.
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Magic formally introduce Frank Vogel as their new coach
The Grizzlies least inspired coach (Iavaroni) was celebrated when he was hired. Their most inspired coaches (Brown and Hollins) were ridiculed.
So how will their next head coach work out?
Get back to me in three years.
I do not write this to provide cover for the franchise that is now two weeks into the process of finding someone to replace Dave Joerger.
Joerger went 147-99 with the Grizzlies and took the team to the playoffs three straight years.
The Grizzlies then fired him because he wanted to interview with the Sacramento Kings — but he only wanted to interview with the Kings because the Grizzlies weren't going to give him a long-term contract.
That's a perilous decision on the part of the franchise, and Grizzlies management should be responsible for the results. But given the unpredictable history of NBA coaching hires, there's no reason to panic because the Grizzlies are taking their sweet time with this one, or because former Indiana coach Frank Vogel chose to coach the Orlando Magic instead of the Griz.
Yes, Vogel would have been a reassuring replacement. He's a young coach with an impressive track record who somehow wound up on the wrong side of management. Which is to say, he's Joerger, without the obsession with Rodney Hood.
But do we know that Vogel would have been better than David Fizdale? Or James Borrego? Or Nate Tibbetts? Or any of the other candidates the Grizzlies are considering?
No, we do not.
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There is no one path to success as an NBA coach. Steve Kerr had never coached a game at any level before he took the Golden State job. Dallas head coach Rick Carlisle had been fired from his last two jobs. San Antonio head coach Gregg Popovich was a former assistant, who became a general manager, who then appointed himself as head coach.
The only thing those coaches have in common?
Good players. It's best to have a lot of those.
Indeed, that may have been the most discouraging part of Vogel's decision to take the Orlando job instead of the Memphis jobs. Vogel looked at the Grizzlies roster, and the team's prospects for the future, and he decided he would rather coach a team with a collection of nice, promising kids.
So maybe Joerger was right, after all. Maybe the Grizzlies are old and slow? If they remain that way, it will end badly for whomever ultimately gets the coaching job, and for Grizzlies management, too.
But in the meantime, there's no reason to panic. No cause to leap off the Harahan Bridge. Neither Hollins nor Hubie won the press conference. After that, they won a bunch.
Geoff Calkins writes for the Commercial Appeal, part of the USA TODAY network.