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Bulls Front Office Talking About Thibs

May 28, 2015 | WLS-AM Staff

By Nick Gale, WLS News

The Bulls first put out a press release to announce they fired Head Coach Tom Thibodeau and later held a press conference.

LISTEN to Nick Gale’s report:

In the press release, Bulls Chairman Jerry Reinsdorf talked about a departure from communication, openness and trust. During the press conference, Vice President of Basketball Operations John Paxson echoed the thought.

“Obviously there was a breakdown, that’s not a secret by any stretch of the imagination…but you have to have a situation where you’re all pulling in the same direction and once that stops, then its very difficult to move forward, and our whole goal now is to move forward,” Paxson said.

He also says they likely wouldn’t be pulling the plug on Thibodeau if the Bulls had made it beyond the playoffs the past five seasons.

“We probably wouldn’t be sitting here if we won a championship, you know, that’s just the truth, but we haven’t done that and I go back to this missed opportunity this year where we felt we had a real chance.”

Bulls General Manager Gar Forman isn’t talking up any one replacement coach yet, but says they are looking for “the right fit” for the players, the team and the Bulls organization. He says the next coach should be a leader with good communication skills, excellent knowledge of basketball, is open and creative.

Also dismissed was assistant coach Andy Greer, who also joined the Bulls in 2010.

Update: Rahm not happy with Thibodeau firing

May 28, 2015 | WLS-AM Staff

Rahm Emanuel – Photo courtesy of Bill Cameron, WLS News

By WLS Reporter Bill Cameron

Mayor Rahm Emanuel is weighing in on the firing of Bulls Head Coach Tom Thibodeau.

Emanuel is a huge Bulls fan and he’s not happy about the firing.

LISTEN to Bill Cameron’s story:

“I’ll say this, I have been in regular communication over the past weeks with Coach T and I think he’s a great coach,” Emanuel said. Asked if Thibodeau got a raw deal, he said, “I think he’s a great coach. We were fortunate to have him.”

The mayor was restraining himself on the Bulls front office decision, although he did say he’d like to use a graffiti blaster on somebody. He was not restraining himself on keeping the ball in Springfield’s court on the huge financial problems facing the city.

“Everyone of the issues we’re talking about, the challenges were first created in Springfield years ago.”

But the impasse in Springfield continues with no end in sight.