The Grizzlies are searching for their fifth head coach since Robert Pera took controlling ownership of the franchise in 2012.

J.B. Bickerstaff was fired last week, becoming the second coach in a row to be jettisoned after less than two years at the helm.

Here is a look back at what led to the dismissals of four coaches in six years.

Lionel Hollins

Speculation escalated about perceived tension between Hollins and Pera's leadership team after the Grizzlies traded Rudy Gay in 2013. The team continued winning, though, and finished the 2013 regular season with a franchise-record 56 wins.

The Grizzlies advanced to their only Western Conference Finals in franchise history.

But even that could not smooth over the tension.

With Hollins' contract set to expire June 30, he interviewed for other jobs while officially remaining coach of the Grizzlies.

"People need to know from my perspective that I don’t want to talk to any other teams. I want to be here," Hollins said in an interview on Sports 56 WHBQ at the time. "I told the media after our exit interviews that if the team offered me a contract that I felt was fair, I’d sign it the next day."

As the standoff continued between Hollins and the Grizzlies, The Commercial Appeal reported that George Karl, Alvin Gentry and Grizzlies assistant Dave Joerger had emerged as the front-runners to be hired as coach if Hollins did not return.

Then-CEO Jason Levien informed Hollins on June 11 that he would not be offered a new contract after his current deal expired on June 30.

Hollins quickly landed interviews with the Clippers and Nuggets. After a year off, he spent two seasons as coach of the Nets.

Hollins’ Memphis departure came down to "philosophical differences," according to multiple reports. Those differences reportedly involved Hollins' old-school style and the increasingly analytics-driven direction of Pera's leadership team.

"It was a very difficult decision because I have a lot of respect for Lionel and the work he’s done in Memphis and with the Grizzlies," Levien said. "I felt like we went through a very thorough process and came to an outcome we thought was right for the organization. But it wasn’t easy."

Dave Joerger

According to multiple reports, the Grizzlies were frustrated by what they perceived as veiled swipes at the front office in remarks to the media during a tumultuous season. The Grizzlies used an NBA-record 28 players during the season amid trades and injuries. But they still made the playoffs for a sixth straight season.

Ultimately, the fallout came as Joerger sought an interview for the Kings' job just two years after he interviewed for the Timberwolves' job.

The Grizzlies fired Joerger in May, with reports suggesting that a rift had been growing between the coach and front office for a while.

“We are a stable and unified organization and one of only three teams to have made the playoffs for six straight years," then-general manager Chris Wallace said in a statement announcing Joerger's dismissal. "We’re planning for sustained success and will find a coach that shares our long-term outlook.”

Wallace claimed responsibility for the decision and said he explained it to Pera "just as any GM would to their owner, and he was supportive."

“This decision is about ensuring stability for years to come," Wallace said in the statement.

David Fizdale

The notion of long-term stability became laughable just 18 months later when the Grizzlies fired David Fizdale during an eight-game losing streak in November 2017.

His firing came as point guard Mike Conley sat out with what would become a season-ending Achilles injury. Ultimately, a strained relationship between Fizdale and Marc Gasol is widely believed to have been a determining factor in the decision to fire Fizdale.

Gasol said he learned about the firing from Pera.

“Nobody likes to be in the situation we’re in," Gasol said. "And we were not finding a way to win collectively. We were breaking apart. Me and David didn’t see everything eye-to-eye all the time. But we both had the same intentions of making the team a collective, really strong unit. We couldn’t find a way to do that.”

Gasol and Fizdale later made amends and were spotted hugging and talking after the Grizzlies' game against Fizdale's Knicks at Madison Square Garden in February.

J.B. Bickerstaff

Bickerstaff replaced Fizdale as the interim coach for the rest of the 2017-18 season and accepted the full-time job three weeks after the season.

Things started great, with the Grizzlies jumping to the top of the Western Conference standings with a 12-5 start.

Bent on revitalizing the defense of the "Grit and Grind" era, Bickerstaff drew rave reviews early. But as Gasol's production and the team's outside shooters struggled, the season spiraled out of control.

Pera made a quiet trip to Memphis in mid-January amid the team's precipitous downturn. Some within the franchise believed he intended to make sweeping organizational changes then.

He left with the front office and coaching staff still in tact. But ultimately, a stretch of 22 losses in 26 games from mid-December through Feb. 1 ruined Bickerstaff's chances of retaining the job for a second season.

The Grizzlies handled Bickerstaff's firing clumsily by allowing Wallace to endorse Bickerstaff as the team's coach publicly during exit interviews last week. A few hours later, Pera demoted Wallace and fired Bickerstaff.

Reach Grizzlies beat writer David Cobb at david.cobb@commercialappeal.com or on Twitter @DavidWCobb.

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