Chicago Bulls fire Tom Thibodeau after five seasons

By Mike Cole

The Chicago Bulls averaged 51 wins per season under head coach Tom Thibodeau. On Thursday, the Bulls fired him.

There were plenty of rumors surrounding Thibodeau’s job security despite five winning seasons at the helm. On Thursday, the club made it official and announced they had fired the 57-year-old.

Bulls chairman Jerry Reinsdorf released a statement with the announcement, and it sure sounds like there were some major issues within the Bulls’ power structure.

“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,” part of Reinsdorf’s statement read. “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.”

Thibodeau took over prior to the 2010-11 season and instantly found success. The Bulls won 62 games in Thibodeau’s first season and never won fewer than 45 games, including the lockout-shortened 2011-12 season when the Bulls went 50-16.

However, Thibodeau’s teams weren’t ever able to break through. The Bulls reached the Eastern Conference finals in Thibodeau’s first season but weren’t able to advance past the second round in any other season. It probably should also be noted that Bulls star Derrick Rose played 81 games in Thibodeau’s first season but never played more than 51 games in the four seasons that followed, including playing in just 10 games over two seasons in 2012-13 and 13-14.

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