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Chicago Bulls: Will Tom Thibodeau Return Next Season?

By Robby Sabo

Mar 21, 2015; Auburn Hills, MI, USA; Chicago Bulls head coach Tom Thibodeau smiles before the game against the Detroit Pistons at The Palace of Auburn Hills. Mandatory Credit: Raj Mehta-USA TODAY Sports
Mar 21, 2015; Auburn Hills, MI, USA; Chicago Bulls head coach Tom Thibodeau smiles before the game against the Detroit Pistons at The Palace of Auburn Hills. Mandatory Credit: Raj Mehta-USA TODAY Sports /
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There’s no question Chicago Bulls head coach Tom Thibodeau has proved his coaching worth in his five seasons. Will he be back next year?

It’s a familiar scenario fans come to know way too often in this business.

Incredibly too often actually. Fans of the San Francisco 49ers are the latest group to have felt the wrath of a front office/head coach clash.

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In Chicago, whether it’s the Chicago Tribune or ESPN, fans are starting to be slammed in the face with it.

Head coach Tom Thibodeau and the suits in the front office are not making nice with each other.

As seen as recently as the San Francisco situation, success rarely matters. Jim Harbaugh took his 49ers to three straight NFC Championships in his first three seasons as head coach. He even came one ridiculous defensive pass interference no-call away from winning a Super Bowl.

Yet ownership allowed general manager Trent Baalke to win the battle and now hire a potentially laughable next head coach in Jim Tomsula.

At this point Chicago Bulls fans can only hope owner Jerry Reinsdorf doesn’t fall into the same trap. Instead, he needs to make an intelligent, calculated decision.

Scoop Jackson of ESPN reported on it as recently as Monday — the disagreement that vice president John Paxson and and general manager Gus Forman have with Thibodeau is very, very real.

Injuries are the heart at the issue.

Paxson and Forman have reached the edge in their belief that Thibodeau’s frantic pace is over-working his players to the point of injury.

The franchise finished with a 41-41 record in 2009-2010. Thibodeau’s first season in 2010-11 yielded a record of 62-20.

Is it of any coincidence to people that Derrick Rose enjoyed his best season as a pro in Thibodeau’s first as head coach? Playing 81 games Rose averaged 25 a game to go along with 7.7 assists, including the league’s MVP.

Mar 21, 2015; Auburn Hills, MI, USA; Chicago Bulls guard Derrick Rose (1) warms up before the game against the Detroit Pistons at The Palace of Auburn Hills. Mandatory Credit: Raj Mehta-USA TODAY Sports
Mar 21, 2015; Auburn Hills, MI, USA; Chicago Bulls guard Derrick Rose (1) warms up before the game against the Detroit Pistons at The Palace of Auburn Hills. Mandatory Credit: Raj Mehta-USA TODAY Sports /

Rose’s minutes per game during that season reached 37.4. This was a smidge higher than his first two years in the league without Thibodeau (37 and 36.8 respectively).

We all know what’s happened to Rose since that season (playing only 130 games out of a possible 328 prior to this season).

Could Paxson and Forman be right in their contention that Thibodeau does push the limits too far in practice?

I mean, let’s be honest here, it’s not only Rose who’s been consistently injured. The heart and soul of this roster, Joakim Noah, has also seen his fair share of bouts. Prior to this season Noah has only played in 258 games out of a possible 328 in Thibodeau’s reign as boss.

How about Jimmy Butler? Well, he missed 15 games last season and is only now making his return Monday night against the Charlotte Hornets after missing the previous 11, which sent the Bulls into a tailspin that saw seven losses in their last 10.

Prior to Thibodeau, Noah only missed eight games in his first two seasons and Rose, six games during his first three.

Compare the Bulls injuries to say a team in the San Antonio Spurs who rest their aging veterans to a level of nausea, and you can understand the concerns coming from the front office.

At the same time though, all Thibodeau has done is win. His .645 career winning percentage ranks seventh all-time in NBA history for coaches with at least 200 games under their belt. He’s a defensive and team oriented genius.

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    • As far as the Rose/Noah injury numbers pre and post Thibodeau is concerned, the numbers don’t lie. These guys haven’t missed considerable time until Tom took over. However, they were also youngsters at the time of their consistent health.

    The bottom line is this: we’ll never know whether the current Bulls head coach is partly responsible for adding to the number of games missed on the Chicago roster. We do know, however, that he is directly responsible for their successes over these past four plus seasons.

    We also know when coach/front office clashes start leaking out into the media, something will give eventually. At this juncture there is no point of return.

    Before ownership takes action, they should first wait and see how the 49ers fair post-Harbaugh. Sometimes the guy who’s rubbing arms with the owner — and who’s office is geographically closer – isn’t always the one who knows what he’s talking about.

    Thibodeau will be gone eventually barring a magical run this spring. It’ll just be another casualty in the many between front office and head coach.

    Next: The Bulls Have No Championship Hopes

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