Fred Hoiberg’s job with the Chicago Bulls is apparently safe—insofar as a head coach’s gig can be safe after his team failed to meet internal expectations for the second consecutive season.
While appearing on the Washington Post‘s Posting Up podcast with Tim Bontemps, K.C. Johnson of the Chicago Tribune indicated that he thinks Hoiberg’s job will be safe until next season (transcription via HoopsHype):
I would certainly expect, and Gar Forman is on record saying it, that Fred Hoiberg will start next season as the head coach.
This isn’t incredibly flooring. The Bulls haven’t been good under Hoiberg, but they were never built to be good. He was hired, presumably, to install the pace-and-space offense Tom Thibodeau never did. Gar Forman and John Paxson have never once given him the personnel to implement that type of model.
This season in particular was a disaster on the front office’s behalf. They signed both Rajon Rondo and Dwyane Wade, who is done for the year after suffering an elbow fracture, neither of whom is an accomplished three-point shooter. The Bulls, as a result, rank 29th and 27th, respectively, in three-point attempts and three-point percentage.
Coaches always fall on the sword of bad teams. If the Bulls enter next season expecting to be a contender, Hoiberg’s seat is going to be red-hot. But if they finally commit to rebuilding, with a full-scale teardown, Hoiberg may be safer than even the most optimistic person thinks. Restructures buy coaches time, and Hoiberg would get plenty if the Bulls decide to remake the roster to meet the style we all thought they wanted to play.
