Tom Thibodeau Fired, Called Out By Bulls Owner

The Bulls fired intense, sweaty mess Tom Thibodeau today after their season ended in the second round to the Cavaliers. It seems odd to fire a coach who led his team to the playoffs in each of his five seasons, but owner Jerry Reinsdorf’s quote in a team statement hints that there was more to the decision than Thibodeau’s record.

The Bulls’ press release had an actual, interesting quote from Reinsdorf suggesting that Thibodeau wasn’t on the same line with everyone else in the organization. An excerpt:

While the head of each department of the organization must be free to make final decisions regarding his department, there must be free and open interdepartmental discussion and consideration of everyone’s ideas and opinions. These internal discussions must not be considered an invasion of turf, and must remain private. 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. 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. To ensure that the Chicago Bulls can continue to grow and succeed, we have decided that a change in the head coaching position is required. Days like today are difficult, but necessary for us to achieve our goals and fulfill our commitments to our fans. I appreciate the contributions that Tom Thibodeau made to the Bulls organization. I have always respected his love of the game and wish him well in the future.

The team put a little more time into that statement than Vinny Del Negro’s back in 2010:

Photo: AP

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