A move that the fans were waiting for a while happened on Friday morning with now former Chicago Bulls head coach Jim Boylen getting relieved of his duties.
The moment we have all been waiting for has finally arrived. On the morning of Aug. 14, the Chicago Bulls announced that Jim Boylen was relieved of his head coaching duties. News that was thought to not come anytime soon now dropped to give Bulls fans the news they’ve sought after for more than a year now.
This could mean good things for the Bulls for the remainder of the offseason, depending on what happens with their coaching search. The pressure will now turn to the newly hired executive vice president of basketball operations and former Denver Nuggets general manager Arturas Karnisovas, along with new general manager and ex-Philadelphia 76ers VP of player personnel Marc Eversley. Karnisovas and Eversley are now the lead voices in the front office and have their first real challenge on their plate.
And the idea now that they have full autonomy from ownership is more believable. The confusing trends of who was making the overall decision in this organization from the top becomes a bit clearer now that Boylen is unseated. This also gives Karnisovas and Eversley the early chance to prove themselves and make an immediate impact on the rebuild heading into its fourth year.
The hiring process for the Bulls now that Boylen is out could involve a number of different candidates, and names that were thrown around already like Ime Udoka and Adrian Griffin.
This also now becomes possibly the most high-profile current/anticipated job opening in the NBA. Now that the New York Knicks hired former Bulls and Minnesota Timberwolves head coach Tom Thibodeau to replace David Fizdale and the interim Mike Miller, the Bulls are definitely the biggest market team with a current/anticipated head coach opening.
Boylen rounded out his tenure as Bulls head coach with a record of 39-84. He originally took over as the interim for former head coach Fred Hoiberg in December 2018. The Bulls were one of the worst teams in the Eastern Conference during his stint as interim head coach. And he led the team to a record of 22-43 in the current season.
The change that Bulls fans have longed so much for since the outset of the offseason is finally coming around. The front office and coaching staff are now getting complete remodels and hope is starting to come back for the potential success of this rebuild.