Tom Thibodeau Fired as Head Coach of the Chicago Bulls

After the Cleveland Cavaliers eliminated the Chicago Bulls in the Eastern Conference Semifinals, the organization decided that it was time for a change and fired head coach Tom Thibodeau. 

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Thibodeau Fired by Bulls

Thursday, May 28

The Bulls announced via a team release that the organization had fired Thibodeau:

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Chicago Bulls Chairman Jerry Reinsdorf said, “The Chicago Bulls have a history of achieving great success on and off the court. These accomplishments have been possible because of an organizational culture where input from all parts of the organization has been welcomed and valued, there has been a willingness to participate in a free flow of information, and there have been clear and consistent goals. 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. To ensure that the Chicago Bulls can continue to grow and succeed, we have decided that a change in the head coaching position is required. Days like today are difficult, but necessary for us to achieve our goals and fulfill our commitments to our fans. I appreciate the contributions that Tom Thibodeau made to the Bulls organization. I have always respected his love of the game and wish him well in the future.”

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The move comes as no surprise, especially following a report from Sporting News' Sean Deveney, who reported, according to sources, that Bulls players were informed Thibodeau will not be the head coach of the team next season.

On May 25, Stein reported the Bulls may wait for other coaching vacancies to fill before parting with their head coach, saying: "More and more you hear Thibs admirers around NBA say they fear Bulls determined to let all three open jobs get filled and then let Thibs go."

While Thibodeau deserves plenty of credit for the way his teams played defense and competed through a number of devastating injuries the past few years, Nick Friedell of ESPNChicago.com suggested there was only one way to look at the 2014-15 campaign:

This was Thibodeau’s fifth season in Chicago. His teams made the playoffs all five years, which was no easy task considering the various injuries to Rose, but they never reached the NBA Finals or got over the LeBron James speed bump. Perhaps a draft pick in exchange for their coach would help them do just that down the line.

There is still a solid core in place in Rose, Jimmy Butler and Joakim Noah, but Thibodeau won't be around to lead them toward a championship.