Fansided

5 replacements for Dave Joerger with Memphis Grizzlies

By John Buhler

Mar 28, 2016; Memphis, TN, USA; Memphis Grizzlies head coach Dave Joerger reacts to a call in the first half againt the San Antonio Spurs at FedExForum. Mandatory Credit: Nelson Chenault-USA TODAY Sports
Mar 28, 2016; Memphis, TN, USA; Memphis Grizzlies head coach Dave Joerger reacts to a call in the first half againt the San Antonio Spurs at FedExForum. Mandatory Credit: Nelson Chenault-USA TODAY Sports /
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May 1, 2016; Toronto, Ontario, CAN; Indiana Pacers head coach Frank Vogel gestures during first half play against Toronto Raptors in game seven of the first round of the 2016 NBA Playoffs at Air Canada Centre. Mandatory Credit: Dan Hamilton-USA TODAY Sports
May 1, 2016; Toronto, Ontario, CAN; Indiana Pacers head coach Frank Vogel gestures during first half play against Toronto Raptors in game seven of the first round of the 2016 NBA Playoffs at Air Canada Centre. Mandatory Credit: Dan Hamilton-USA TODAY Sports /

1. Frank Vogel

This might be reading between the lines a tad, but perhaps the biggest reason the Grizzlies fired Joerger was that former Indiana Pacers head coach Frank Vogel was now available. It has been well over a week since Joerger’s 2015-16 Grizzlies were ousted from the NBA Playoffs, yet on Saturday the front office decided to cut ties with a coach who has been on their staff for nearly a decade.

Vogel didn’t deserve to be fired by Larry Bird’s Pacers, but he is now the best available coach on the market with a handful of teams still needing to solidify that position. Vogel led the Pacers to back-to-back Eastern Conference Finals in 2013 and 2014 with a defense-first basketball team similar to what Memphis already has in the Grit ‘n’ Grind era.

Vogel’s Pacers teams routinely were a top five defensive team, even during two very strange years in Pacers basketball in 2014-15 and 2015-16. The former was basically a lost year when Vogel’s club lost All-Star forward Paul George for most of the year because of his disturbing leg injury suffered in Las Vegas during a USA Basketball exhibition. This past season saw the Pacers try to usher in the pace and space era without having consistent reliable scoring outside of George and shooting guard Monta Ellis.

Top 10 coaches like Vogel aren’t out of jobs for long. Would he be an upgrade over Joerger? Not to discredit Joerger for the fine job he did with the Grizzlies, but yes, Vogel is just outside of being an elite NBA coach. He’ll use the bitter spurn by Bird as motivation to keep Memphis relevant.

If anybody is going to be able to get the Grit ‘n’ Grind Grizzlies back to the Western Conference Finals over the next few years, it is without question Vogel. He is and should be the Grizzlies’ top candidate for the job, assuming Vogel wants to lead a team in 2016-17 and not opt for a Tom Thibodeau/Scott Brooks type of year sabbatical from the coaching profession.

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