Chicago Bulls paying for Fred Hoiberg hire
By Paul Steeno
Chicago Bulls first-year head coach Fred Hoiberg plays nice with others, and the front office loves it.
Chicago Bulls General Manager Gar Forman and Vice President of Basketball Operations John Paxson hired Fred Hoiberg last June for illegitimate reasons and they’ve paid for that decision this season.
Despite a win on Wednesday night against the Sacramento Kings, the Bulls have lost nine of their last fourteen games. They continue to slide down the Eastern Conference playoff standings. The Bulls are fifth but are only three and a half games away from falling out of playoff position. .
The Chicago Bulls fired former head coach Tom Thibodeau last June after the Cleveland Cavaliers eliminated the Bulls from the second round of the playoffs. To replace Thibodeau, the Bulls brought in former Iowa State head coach Fred Hoiberg. The Bulls expected his free-flowing, pace-oriented offensive system to resurrect an underachieving offense. The Bulls front office thought his calm, laid back demeanor would be a welcome change to the hard-driving antics of Thibodeau.
Fred Hoiberg is a yes-man; a passive, controlled personality who won’t outshine nor undermine the Bulls front office. The Bulls hired a coach that wouldn’t fight back, and, because of this, the Bulls are fighting to remain in playoff position.
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To understand the thought process behind the Fred Hoiberg hiring, we have to rewind back and evaluate the reasons why Tom Thibodeau’s time with the Chicago Bulls came to an end after last season.
Neither Gar Forman nor John Paxson could play nice with former head coach Tom Thibodeau. The two parties disagreed on everything from playing time to trade targets. The eventual divorce between the two parties was largely due to jealousy; neither Forman nor Paxson could stomach that people attributed most of the Chicago Bulls success to the genius of Tom Thibodeau instead of the behind-the-scenes work of the front office.
"Over and over, those listening to John Paxson and Gar Forman would tell you that Bulls management could never make peace with the praise heaped upon Thibodeau for 60-victory seasons and deep playoff runs. For them, it was too much about the best defense in the NBA, too much about his development of journeymen into rotation contributors, good players into All-Stars, great players into an MVP. To them, Thibodeau represented a Chicago folk hero who needed to be leveled. Tell them that he was a great coach, and league officials say you’d often hear back from Bulls management that simply, “He’s good.” —--Quote obtained by Yahoo! Sports writer Adrian Wojnarowski"
So, because they were in the position of power, the front office fired Tom Thibodeau and hired a coach that they liked on a personal level. A coach that would play nice and serve as their obedient puppet. A coach that wouldn’t talk back; that would harness his ego and not steal the thunder from the front office. A quiet yes-man. They got this in Fred Hoiberg.
As the Hoiberg hiring became imminent, information surfaced that Forman and Hoiberg had a long, personal relationship for over two decades.
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"Hoiberg and Forman have been close for more than two decades, dating back to when Hoiberg was a player for the Cyclones and Forman was an assistant coach. When Hoiberg left Chicago during his 10-year NBA career, it was Forman and his family who bought Hoiberg’s house. The connections run deep between the two men, which is why there will be more pressure than ever on Forman to produce a winner. —content created by ESPN Chicago reporter Nick Friedell"
In government, when politicians give important positions to their friends we call it corruption. In basketball, we don’t bat an eye.
Forman and Paxson tried to hide these personal reasons for the Hoiberg hiring under the masquerade of more basketball-related issues.
"We feel strongly we’ve got a guy with a skill package of a winning coach, a natural leader and great communicator. We’ve known Fred for a long time, thought very highly of Fred. We have great respect for who he is as a person and the job he has done. He was the right guy to maximize our talent. A big part of coaching is the human element — getting guys to buy in, to play together, to play hard, to accept roles. We have confidence that Fred’s going to be able to do that. —-Quote obtained by Chicago Tribune writer K.C. Johnson"
The “great communicator” label, an aspect of Hoiberg’s personality that the front office emphasized as extremely important, hasn’t come to fruition. In an interview with ESPN writer Zach Lowe, Hoiberg said that center Joakim Noah had come to him and asked to come off the bench (as opposed to returning to his normal starter position) because he wanted to play with Taj Gibson. Noah later denied that this conversation happened, saying he had never asked for a bench role.
In another instance of poor communication, Fred Hoiberg said in November that Derrick Rose’s double vision (that came about as a result of pre-season facial surgery), could last another three months. Rose’s response to this diagnosis? “That is the first time I’m hearing about that.”
Hoiberg hasn’t lived up to the billing of a natural leader either. Jimmy Butler called out Hoiberg for being too nice and not holding his players accountable for their mistakes. The lack of fundamentals (boxing out, defending pick-and-rolls) and the regression of players such as Joakim Noah, Nikola Mirotic and Tony Snell suggests that the teaching aspect of coaching isn’t there either.
A more quantifiable indication of Hoiberg’s incompetence is the product on the court. The Bulls have regressed in almost every significant offensive category compared to a season ago. This wasn’t supposed to happen.
According to ESPN, the Chicago Bulls 100.7 offensive efficiency rating is the fifth worst in the NBA. Last season with Thibodeau at the helm, the Bulls had a 104.7 offensive efficiency rating which was tenth best in the NBA.
The fast-paced offense didn’t materialize either. The Bulls are tied for 20th in the NBA in pace with a 95.4 rating. According to Team Rankings’ website, the Bulls average 10.3 fastbreak points per game and come in at 26th in the NBA in this category. Last season, the Bulls averaged 11.0 fastbreak points per game.
The free-flowing offense expectation hasn’t materialized either. According to Team Rankings’ website, the Bulls are 15th in the league with 21.8 assists per game. Also, the Bulls rank 20th in the NBA in assists per field goals made, with assists occurring on just under 57 percent of made field goal attempts.
Fred Hoiberg hasn’t delivered on his offensive promises. The free-flowing, efficient offense that people expected hasn’t materialized. His ability to manage a roster of NBA players remains in question. He has already displayed his poor communication skills on two occasions. Fred Hoiberg isn’t the right man to coach the Chicago Bulls. The Bulls front office hired a yes man with a limited NBA coaching skill set and they are now paying for this decision.
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Unless the Bulls manage a monumental turnaround this season, Fred Hoiberg needs to go. The front office needs to worry less about personality and communication skills and hire a coach who can win.