The San Antonio Spurs have brought together some exhilarating young talent headlined by Victor Wembanyama, but who will coach Wemby, Stephon Castle, and Co. next season?
38-year-old Mitch Johnson has served as San Antonio’s interim head coach since Hall of Famer Gregg Popovich suffered a serious health issue in early November.
It’s unclear whether Popovich will return to the sidelines in 2025-26 and whether the Spurs will name Johnson permanent head coach if Pop doesn’t come back.
If San Antonio did open up the position, plenty of high-profile and high-quality candidates would be interested. The Spurs have a rich tradition and a ridiculously bright future centered around Wemby.
Would former Spurs player and Popovich disciple Ime Udoka leave the Rockets to become Pop’s successor?
Another unexpected development took place this week in the NBA coaching world: Taylor Jenkins was fired by the Memphis Grizzlies.
Jenkins now shoots to the top of the list of available NBA coaches for hire this offseason, which of course connects him to a theoretical Spurs opening.
Based on Jenkins’s consistent success with the Grizzlies’ young roster over the past few seasons, he’d be among the best possible candidates that San Antonio would be able to bring in.
It would be awesome to see Jenkins hired by San Antonio and make the Spurs a stronger West team than Memphis, thereby enacting sweet revenge on his former employer.
Desmond Bane and other Grizzlies players don’t seem happy about Jenkins getting fired, which is further evidence pointing to Jenkins’s quality.
Everyone wants to see Pop return to coaching next season, but if he decides to take it easy and enjoy more time off, Jenkins would be excellent for the silver and black.
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