Bulls fire head coach Jim Boylen

The Chicago Bulls fired head coach Jim Boylen on Friday morning, the team announced in a statement. Boylen replaced Fred Hoiberg during the 2018-19 season after the Bulls went 5-19 to start the campaign. He had stayed on as head coach for the 2019-20 season, though the results weren’t there again. The Bulls finished 22-43 before the season was stopped due to Covid-19.

So Boylen was let go this morning, which is a good move considering Chicago brought in Arturas Karnisovas to run basketball operations as executive vice president. Here’s what he had to say about the firing:

“After doing a comprehensive evaluation and giving the process the time it deserved, I ultimately decided that a fresh approach and evolution in leadership was necessary. This was a very difficult decision, but it is time for our franchise to take that next step as we move in a new direction and era of Chicago Bulls basketball. Jim is a great human being that cares deeply about this organization and the game of basketball. I want to thank him for his professionalism and commitment to the franchise.”

The Bulls are expected to start searching for a head coach immediately. There’s no inside track or current favorite for the job but we’ll see what gets reported in the next few weeks. Chicago needs to bring in somebody who can get the most out of young players like Coby White and Lauri Markkanen, the cornerstones of the franchise right now. Here are a few names that may come up in the search, per ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski.