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It’s well-known by this point that coach Tom Thibodeau and the Chicago Bulls are likely to part ways after the season, even with a 1-0 lead over the Cleveland Cavaliers right now and the potential to win a NBA title for the first time since the Michael Jordan era.
Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports has a recent column about Thibodeau, and during an appearance on Fox Sports 1 he suggested that no amount of winning by the Bulls this postseason will bring Thibodeau back next season. ESPN’s Marc Stein reported in March that the Bulls have interest in Iowa State head coach Fred Hoiberg as Thibodeau’s successor, assuming of course that a change is made.
Thibodeau may not be willing to walk away from the final two years of his contract, even with what Wojnarowski painted as an increasingly difficult relationship with management, so it looks like the Bulls would have to fire him to pave the way for a coaching change. If that’s the decision Bulls’ executive vice president John Paxson and general manager Gar Forman come to, with the blessing of owner Jerry Reinsdorf I assume, then the Bulls deserve the ultimate end result I see as inevitable-a return toward the losing ways that followed six championship seasons in the 1990’s.
Despite the turmoil between he and the front office, Thibodeau seems to have the full support of Bulls’ players. That should not be overlooked, and it’s no guarantee that Hoiberg or any other potential replacement will carry that support from the players seamlessly. The Golden State Warriors are a success story in that regard, as they could reach a new level of playoff success this year after Steve Kerr replaced Mark Jackson, but I think the 2014-15 Warriors are a clear exception to an overall rule. Maintaining any high level of success achieved under a fired coach is at best difficult to do, as a new coach looks to put their stamp on things and set their own course. And exceeding that level of success? Virtually unheard of.
The situation with Thibodeau and the Bulls mirrors what we saw in the NFL between Jim Harbaugh and the San Francisco 49ers. Coaches do wear out their welcome and rarely leave a job on their terms, regardless of sport, but I think there are cases where management needs to stay out of the way of on-field or on-court success. The 49ers’ brass couldn’t do it on the heels of an 8-8 season in 2014, which not coincidentally followed an offseason of continued speculation about Harbaugh’s job security. The Bulls will be headed down a similar path toward mediocrity if they fire Thibodeau, and a move to fire him should serve as a cautionary tale for anyone who may be in line to replace him.
Brad Berreman is a Senior Writer at Rant Sports.com. Follow him on Twitter.
