Talk about an unexpected start to the week.
#Bulls have fired Fred Hoiberg, team announces.
— Cody Westerlund (@CodyWesterlund) December 3, 2018
Quick video on Bulls firing of Fred Hoiberg. Team finalized decision Sunday, per league sources. pic.twitter.com/K3g31R4ssQ
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) December 3, 2018
Associate head coach Jim Boylen will take over as the permanent head coach of the Bulls to replace Fred Hoiberg, no interim title, league source tells ESPN.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) December 3, 2018
It was unlikely that Fred Hoiberg was going to be around by the time the Bulls entered their next competitive window, but firing him 24 games into a season where Lauri Markkanen and Kris Dunn have played a combined 56 minutes seems odd.
Of course, this isn’t even John Paxson’s most surprising firing. He famously fired Scott Skiles on Christmas Eve during the 2007-08 season. Considering he and his partner in crime Gar Forman are operating under lifetime contracts, maybe they don’t particularly care about the timing of their coaching decisions.
If Jim Boylen doesn't win job, next offseason will be 6th coaching hire for this managerial regime. They've hired Bill Cartwright, Scott Skiles, Vinny Del Negro, Tom Thibodeau and Fred Hoiberg.
— K.C. Johnson (@KCJHoop) December 3, 2018
Cartwright was actually hired by Jerry Krause, then fired by Paxson. So Jim Boylen is now the Bulls 5th “permanent” head coach under the current regime, and we should all be operating under the assumption that despite what the Bulls say the rest of the season, they’ll be looking for a sixth coach at season’s end.
In a week that should’ve been highlighted by excitement over the return of Lauri Markkanen and possibly Kris Dunn and Bobby Portis, the Bulls have managed to do what they do best, cast a shadow of doubt and pessimism over the direction of the team.
