Chicago Bulls: 3 surprise candidates who could be next HC

Shortening the list of coaching candidates to be the next head coach hire for the Chicago Bulls doesn’t appear to be something that happens soon.

There are three head coach openings that currently remain in the Eastern Conference as of the night of Sep. 5. Those three head coaching job openings in the East that exist right now includes that of the Philadelphia 76ers, Indiana Pacers, and Chicago Bulls.

The two most recent head coaching hires around the NBA, more specifically in the East, were with the Brooklyn Nets and New York Knicks. The Nets replaced former head coach Kenny Atkinson for good with the former two-time MVP and long-time Phoenix Suns and Dallas Mavericks superstar point guard Steve Nash. And the Knicks replaced former head coach David Fizdale with the former Bulls head coach Tom Thibodeau.

Those two coaching hires with the Nets and Knicks are of very different natures. Hiring Thibodeau was a pretty safe move by the Knicks, given his proven track record with the Bulls and Minnesota Timberwolves. But the Nets brought on a coaching hire that is a bit younger, and definitely more unproven, with Nash.

As far as the Bulls head coaching job is concerned, it’s hard to figure out exactly what’s needed with this hire. The Bulls previous front office regime of John Paxson and Gar Forman missed both when they hired/promoted former head coaches Fred Hoiberg and Jim Boylen. The organization parted ways with Boylen back on Aug. 14, which is what opened this job up in the first place.

Boylen finished up his two seasons coaching with the Bulls with a record of 39-84. The Bulls finished up the 2019-20 season with a record of 22-43.

If the Bulls do want to look to more of a surprise candidate to find their next coaching hire, what are some valid names to focus in on?