Fred Hoiberg to Bulls: Comments, Top Takeaways from Press Conference

The Chicago Bulls finally ended all of the speculation by officially announcing Fred Hoiberg as their next head coach at a press conference on Tuesday.     

Hoiberg has big shoes to fill taking over for Tom Thibodeau, who had a .647 winning percentage and made the playoffs in each of his five seasons with the Bulls. The former NBA shooting guard has built a strong coaching resume for himself at the college level, making the NCAA tournament in the last four years with Iowa State. 

Moving to the professional ranks is no small feat for anyone, though Hoiberg has the support of Bulls general manager Gar Forman, per ESPN Chicago's Nick Friedell:

Expanding on that particular comment, per K.C. Johnson of the Chicago Tribune, Forman praised Hoiberg's ability to lead this team and verbally connect with the players:

As far as how the Bulls and Hoiberg came together, Forman said it was a quick process that also included team owner Jerry Reinsdorf:

Riding off that comment by Forman, Jeff Zillgitt of USA Today joked the Bulls general manager was only following one coach on Twitter:

For fans in Chicago who feel angered or upset at the Bulls letting Thibodeau go after their years of success together, Forman did say another team's general manager who was interested in Hoiberg praised the coach's ability on the sidelines and as a person, per Johnson:

Thibodeau was the elephant hovering around the room, and Hoiberg didn't shy away from heaping praise on his predecessor for where the Bulls are at as he prepares to take over, per Johnson:

There's a lot for Hoiberg to love, as few first-time NBA coaches get the chance to work with Derrick Rose, Pau Gasol and possibly Jimmy Butler if the Bulls retain their restricted free-agent star. 

That roster of talent hasn't been lost on Hoiberg, who said the versatility and options he has to play with go a long way, per Johnson:

In terms of how Hoiberg plans to control a Bulls team that started to fall apart at the end under Thibodeau, whether due to injuries or exhaustion or something else, he believes in the leadership in Chicago just as he did at Iowa State, per Johnson:

Even though Hoiberg said all the right things at this press conference, both about what he's expecting from this team and in praise of Thibodeau, he wasn't going to win over the fans who saw the Bulls toss away a successful coach who won a lot of games with a roster of oft-injured stars. 

The real work begins now for Hoiberg and Forman as they try to get the Bulls over that LeBron James-sized hump in the postseason. Hoiberg will be tasked with upgrading an offense that Kelly Dwyer of Yahoo Sports called "a serious underachievement" after ranking 11th in offensive efficiency this season. 

Chicago certainly has pieces in place to be a title contender. Hoiberg has coaching experience, though the NBA is an entirely different game than college, as Rick Pitino and John Calipari can attest. This is a tall task that will challenge "The Mayor," but the situation he's walking into doesn't seem to intimidate him.