The Chicago Bulls fired head coach Tom Thibodeau on Thursday, ending a five year run with the club filled with high expectations and shortcomings.
The troubled relationship between Coach Thibodeau and the Bulls front office finally had run its course after five seasons. The 2010-2011 Coach of the Year had two years and nearly $9 million remaining on his contract.
Phil Jackson is the only Bulls head coach to win a higher percentage of his regular-season games than Thibodeau. Jackson had a .738 winning percentage to Thibodeau’s .647.
The Bulls failed to go to the NBA finals in Thibodeau’s five seasons in Chicago.
The New Orleans Pelicans will now have the opportunity to go after the now former Bulls Head Coach without any distractions. The Pelicans fired Monty Williams following their playoff series loss to the Golden State Warriors and now have a list of candidates to replace Williams with reports saying Thibodeau is at the top of the list. Other coaching candidates include Scott Skiles, Alvin Gentry, and Jeff Van Gundy.
Today could be the biggest day for the Pelicans if they are going to strongly pursue Thibodeau’s coaching services. Will they do it? Time will tell.
-Chet Yoder