Bulls fired Tom Thibodeau’s assistant with ties to Jeff Van Gundy
By Mark Carman
Only one Bulls assistant coach was fired today and he worked with Jeff Van Gundy, had strongest ties to Thibodeau
Tom Thibodeau being fired by the Chicago Bulls came as a surprise to no one. The Bulls management team of John Paxson and Gar Forman could no longer work with Thibodeau and owner Jerry Reinsdorf’s statement was both shocking and telling calling out Thibodeau for breaching trust, speaking outside the organization.
"“While the head of each department of the organization must be free to make final decisions regarding his department, there must be free and open interdepartmental discussion and consideration of everyone’s ideas and opinions. These internal discussions must not be considered an invasion of turf, and must remain private. Teams that consistently perform at the highest levels are able to come together and be unified across the organization-staff, players, coaches, management and ownership. When everyone is on the same page, trust develops and teams can grow and succeed together. Unfortunately, there has been a departure from this culture.”"
Many speculate the final breaking point between Bulls management and Thibodeau was when Jeff Van Gundy went on national TV and obliterated the Bulls organization saying.
"“This isn’t new to Chicago Bulls basketball. All the way back to Phil Jackson, the team has publicly supported its coach while privately, often time, undermining that same person. You saw it with Vinny Del Negro, Scott Skiles. I mean, think about it, they ran Phil Jackson out after winning all those championships.”"
Speculation was that Bulls management thought Van Gundy was speaking the thoughts of his good friend Tom Thibodeau, who was not keeping things “private.” Van Gundy was confronted by Bulls general manger Gar Forman at halftime after the rant and according to Van Gundy “was called a bunch of names.” Forman was probably representing the thoughts of John Paxson, who had his own thoughts on Van Gundy, and perhaps owner Jerry Reinsdorf as well.
A ripple effect from those comments could still be felt today with the firing of former Van Gundy assistant Andy Greer. Greer worked with Thibodeau on Van Gundy’s staff for four years when Van Gundy coached the Rockets and was also with him in New York. He has worked with Thibodeau his entire time in Chicago. The assistants that were kept for the time being to help put players through summer workouts, Adrian Griffin, Ed Pinckney, Mike Wilhelm did not share that connection. All three may join Greer when the Bulls hire their next head coach.
Fred Hoiberg is the heavy favorite to be that guy. Forman was an assistant coach at Iowa State under Tim Floyd when Hoiberg played there. According to Iowa State athletic director Jamie Polllard, Hoiberg has always had a desire to coach in the NBA,
"“It’s something that he’s always talked about — that at some point in his career, he’ll want to do that,” Pollard said of Hoiberg eventually coaching in the NBA. “You don’t get to pick and choose those moments.”"
That moment appears to be now. Bulls management need Hoiberg to be the right choice. The spotlight has never been this bright on the front office. Even the President Barack Obama used twitter to support Thibodeau,
.@apat246 @chicagobulls love thibs and think he did a great job. Sorry to see him go but expect he will be snatched up soon by another team.
— President Obama (@POTUS44) May 28, 2015
A lot of pressure for anyone to step into.