John Paxson, the head of basketball operations for the Chicago Bulls, said the decision to fire former head coach Fred Hoiberg was the right one:
“We made a difficult decision today, but one we feel is the right decision at the right time,” said Paxson at a Monday press conference, per the Bulls’ official Twitter account. “This decision was not based on our record, plain and simple. We felt a different energy the past few weeks. We’re lacking a spirit and we need to get that back.”
Hoiberg was fired Monday morning during his fourth season with the Chicago Bulls. Under his leadership, the Bulls had a 5-19 record on the season, making them the second-to-last team in the Eastern Conference.
Hoiberg’s termination came right on the heels of the team’s 121-105 loss to the Houston Rockets on Saturday, which was Lauri Markkanen's season debut. Though he was named head coach for the Bulls in 2015, he was 115-155 with the team.
And although Hoiberg had to overcome the Bulls’ myriad injuries to key players – Markkanen, Kris Dunn, Bobby Portis and Denzel Valentine – he was apparently caught off guard by the firing.
Jim Boylen – who had been Hoiberg’s lead assistant head coach – will assume the helm in Hoiberg’s absence. It’s unclear whether this upward move is a temporary, or a permanent, one for the former assistant coach, as Boylen’s contract runs through next season.
Boylen began his coaching career in 1987 as an assistant coach at Michigan State and has held numerous assistant jobs in the NBA. His only previous head coaching experience came in college at Utah from 2007-11.
The Chicago Bulls will next play the Indiana Pacers on Tuesday.
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