A Change is Coming

ESPN has reported today that the Grizzlies will have a new head coach in place sooner rather than later.  While Marc Iavaroni will lead the team in tonight's game against Houston, his future with the team now appears to be on a game-to-game basis.  According to the ESPN report, the Grizzlies' lighter upcoming schedule, which includes games against Oklahoma City on the road and Chicago, Charlotte and Miami at home, may actually be a reason for the move to happen now.  Apparently, the goal is to get Iavaroni's proposed successor off to a good start with a few legitimate chances for wins coming up.  Candidates for the interim position include assistant coaches Kevin O'Neill and Johnny Davis, but there haven't been any other names thrown out for consideration for the permanent job.  I think O'Neill would be a great choice based on his previous head coaching experience at the college level and his several years as an NBA assistant and head coach.  Additionally, he is the mastermind behind the defensive scheme that helped the Grizzlies get off to a good start this season.  The word on their recent struggles is that Iavaroni is taking too much control over the coaching duties and not allowing O'Neill to use his specialty in the gameplan, which is the whole reason he came here in the first place.  He is a fiery motivator who would put a much-needed charge into the players.