After months of speculation, the Chicago Bulls decided to fire coach Tom Thibodeau outright. While the decision wasn't surprising, the statement released by Bulls owner Jerry Reinsdorf was. The statement took the unusual step of going into detail about why the Bulls released Thibodeau, whom Reinsdorf seemingly threw under the bus for not being a team player.
The animosity between Thibodeau and the Bulls' front office has been an open secret for some time, and it bled through in the statement Reinsdorf released via the team website. The statement starts off pretty standard, but by the end of the second sentence you know this won't be the run-of-the-mill "Hey, great job but we're moving on" kind of press release. It feels like he's winding up, getting you ready for something.
"The Chicago Bulls have a history of achieving great success on and off the court. These accomplishments have been possible because of an organizational culture where input from all parts of the organization has been welcomed and valued, there has been a willingness to participate in a free flow of information, and there have been clear and consistent goals."
And sure enough:
"While the head of each department of the organization must be free to make final decisions regarding his department, there must be free and open interdepartmental discussion and consideration of everyone's ideas and opinions. These internal discussions must not be considered an invasion of turf, and must remain private.
"Teams that consistently perform at the highest levels are able to come together and be unified across the organization-staff, players, coaches, management and ownership. When everyone is on the same page, trust develops and teams can grow and succeed together.
"Unfortunately, there has been a departure from this culture. To ensure that the Chicago Bulls can continue to grow and succeed, we have decided that a change in the head coaching position is required. Days like today are difficult, but necessary for us to achieve our goals and fulfill our commitments to our fans."
To Reinsdorf's credit, he did conclude the statement by saying he appreciated Thibodeau's contributions, respected him, and wished him well in the future.
Depending on how you look at it, though, Reinsdorf's statement was actually an improvement from how the team fired Vinny Del Negro - in an email, according to Deadspin, that read: "DEL NEGRO RELIEVES AS BULLS HEAD COACH" - in 2010.
Thibodeau finished with a 255-139 overall record after five seasons with Chicago.
