Lionel Hollins has been with the Grizzlies since the beggining. He was the interim head coach for the Vancouver Grizzlies in 1999 when they only won 22 games. He was an assistant from 2004 until 2009, when he became the head coach.

He was there through the embarrassing seasons, through the heartbreaking losses, and through the blow-out games.

He was there for the questionable NBA draft transactions (Hasheem Thabeet and Kevin Love), and for the successful trades (Pau Gasol for Marc Gasol).

After Hollins became the Grizzlies head coach in 2009, he returned a winning tradition to Memphis. Hollins increased the Grizzlies winning percentage every season. In his final season with the team, he made it to the Western Conference Finals against the  notorious San Antonio Spurs.

So after bringing the Grizzlies back into championship contention every season, the most logical thing to do would be to fire him, right? The Memphis Grizzlies did just that on June 10, stating that they would not renew Hollins’ contract.

Meet Dave Joerger, a five-time minor-league champion and assistant defensive specialist for the Grizzlies. He was announced as the Grizzlies head coach on June 27.

The Grizzlies won 56 games last season, the most in their franchise history, under Hollins’ high-low offensive sets with Zach Randolph and Marc Gasol as the center pieces. Joerger, on the other hand, attempted to implement a more fast-paced offense. Joerger started the season with three wins and four losses, so Hollins’ system was eventually returned, and the Grizzlies rode a 4-game win streak.

With four seasons of coaching as an assistant with Hollins, Joerger is very familiar with the Grizzlies’ previous style of offense. He was also a major factor in the emerging success of the team’s defense. However, in Joerger’s first fourteen games they have allowed 96.1 points, compared to their league leading 89.3 points allowed last year.

How is a first year NBA manager able to maintain the same level of success and sustain that same “grit and grind” mentality of the Hollins era? The answer is simple: win games.

As the season unfolds, the Grizzlies will see whether or not Joerger was the right choice for the job. Grizzlies fans will hope for another strong season, but only time will tell.