The Chicago Bulls announced on Thursday that they have fired head coach Tom Thibodeau.
In a statement released by the team, Bulls chairman Jerry Reinsdorf alluded to a lack of trust between Thibodeau and the front office.
“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,” Reinsdorf said. “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.”
The Bulls had been looking to trade Thibodeau to another team to get some value in return, but it was no secret that they were going to part ways with him regardless. That stripped the team of any leverage it may have had.
While Thibodeau’s problems with Bulls management have been well documented, a recent report indicated that several Bulls players did not endorse him during end-of-season meetings. It’s possible that information could have been leaked by the team.
In any event, it’s good that the Bulls finally decided to make a move rather than dragging out the process and blocking Thibodeau from pursuing other jobs. He’ll almost certainly land a head coaching gig elsewhere.
