Fred Hoiberg to Bulls: Latest Contract Details, Analysis and Reaction
The Chicago Bulls became the most recent NBA team to follow the trend of hiring college basketball coaches. The franchise tabbed Iowa State Cyclones head coach Fred Hoiberg to succeed the departed Tom Thibodeau, the team announced.
Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo Sports initially reported the news and added that the contract is for five years and "nearly" $25 million.
Sean Highkin of Bleacher Report provided the Bulls' release on the hiring:
Iowa State Athletic Director Jamie Pollard also released a statement on the departure of Hoiberg:
Jeff Zillgitt of USA Today and Nick Friedell of ESPN provided information and comments from Bulls general manager Gar Forman:
It's likely no coincidence that the contrast between Hoiberg and Thibodeau couldn't be more stark.
While the Bulls boasted a .647 winning percentage in the regular season under Thibodeau, his prickly demeanor and constant reliance on his star players didn't endear him to the front office. Bleacher Report's Howard Beck wrote that the head coach and upper management were at odds on multiple topics:
"In today's NBA, organizations demand philosophical alignment—not absolute uniformity, but at least general agreement—from top to bottom, whether the issue is analytics use, player development or player care. This is where Thibodeau ran afoul of his superiors.
Bulls officials were concerned about the marathon practices and shootarounds and, yes, the extensive minutes being played by their oft-injured stars, Rose and Noah. There is widespread evidence that fatigue leads to injury—a concern shared by Bulls officials and the team's medical staff.
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Beck added that even some of Thibodeau's players were growing weary of his style, highlighting the rumor that Joakim Noah opted to stay away from the team's training facility in the offseason so he could avoid working out with Thibodeau.
All of that serves to preface Hoiberg's arrival. Both tactically and personally, he's nearly the polar opposite of his predecessor.
Hoiberg favors pushing the pace and looking to score quickly. Here's a look at where Iowa State ranked in pace, offensive rating and effective field-goal percentage during Hoiberg's tenure, courtesy of Sports-Reference.com:
Uptempo offenses and high-volume scoring were never associated with Thibodeau's Bulls teams.
Regarding Hoiberg's relationships with players, former Cyclones star Royce White, who suffers from an anxiety disorder and a fear of flying, spoke about how much his college coach meant to him personally, per Bleacher Report's C.J. Moore:
"I did tell somebody the other day, they asked would you get on a plane with Coach Hoiberg, and I said I'd follow coach into a volcano with airplanes shooting out of it. It was a joke, but really it wasn't. It's like a statement to my loyalty to him and how much I believe in him. I guess he did make me a lot more comfortable.
White and Hoiberg would talk almost every day about his future, but many of their discussions were outside of basketball.
That's why he's more so a friend or a father figure, and I think he plays that role for a lot of his players, and that's why they have the success they do.
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Cyclones guard Nazareth Mitrou-Long took to Twitter to say goodbye to his former coach:
| 2010-11 | 70.7 (T33rd) | 104.6 (T108th) | .506 (T108th) |
| 2011-12 | 67.5 (T107th) | 108.5 (T44th) | .526 (T51st) |
| 2012-13 | 70.0 (T31st) | 111.7 (T16th) | .538 (T22nd) |
| 2013-14 | 71.7 (T16th) | 113.9 (T25th) | .542 (T22nd) |
| 2014-15 | 69.8 (T15th) | 111.4 (28th) | .543 (29th) |
According to Wojnarowski, Hoiberg has always been the Bulls' No. 1 target. He wrote, "[Bulls general manager Gar] Forman has been obsessive in his desire to hire Hoiberg, and it will be only a matter of days until the Bulls' make-believe search ends and this back-door process is over."
K.C. Johnson of the Chicago Tribune pointed out that Hoiberg and the Bulls also have a history together:
"It's not like Bulls management and ownership don't know Hoiberg, 42, well. He spent four seasons with the Bulls (1999-2003), played at Iowa State when general manager Gar Forman was an assistant to Tim Floyd his senior season and has guided his alma mater's return to prominence with the front office scouting his teams—and him—along the way.
Forman even purchased Hoiberg's home when Hoiberg left the Bulls to play for the Timberwolves.
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While many will agree that Hoiberg is the right man to lead the Bulls right now, it's still far from a sure thing that he will succeed in Chicago.
Brad Stevens may be helping to erase the idea that college coaches can't thrive in the NBA, but he is outflanked by the likes of Lon Kruger, Rick Pitino, Leonard Hamilton, Reggie Theus and Mike Montgomery, all of whom failed to make the transition from college to the pros.
In addition, the Bulls are undoubtedly built in Thibodeau's image. They ranked 21st in pace this past year, per NBA.com, and generally ground out results.
Chicago doesn't necessarily need to tear apart its entire roster, but some of the existing players may not fit Hoiberg's style. In addition, guys such as Noah, Derrick Rose and Jimmy Butler, who are the backbone of the team, will have a major adjustment period ahead.
Similar to the situation Billy Donovan is entering with the Oklahoma City Thunder, Hoiberg won't have a lot of time to ease into his new job before he's expected to pile up the wins. The Bulls remain among the best teams in the Eastern Conference at full strength.
It will certainly be odd not to see Thibodeau glaring from the sideline, but for the Bulls to take the next step and contend for an NBA title, a change in leadership was probably necessary.
The question: Is Hoiberg the guy to take the Bulls to heights they failed to reach over the past five years and finally get them over the hump?
