Will Chicago Bulls Retool Without Tom Thibodeau As Head Coach?

All he’s done is win with a roster whose health is questionable every year. But now it looks as if Chicago Bulls head coach Tom Thibodeau is getting shown the door.

Following the Bulls loss to Lebron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers two nights ago, rumors are starting to intensify that Tom Thibodeau is on the way out. According to ESPN, it’s pretty much a done deal inside league circles, and negotiations for his service afterwards are already being discussed.

“Thibodeau and his front-office superiors John Paxson and Gar Forman, despite their public pronouncements to the contrary, are utterly done with each other,” ESPN Chicago blogger Marc Stein writes. “As one source close to the situation puts it: ‘Thibs is gone. They know it and he knows it.'”

Further, Stein thinks there’s already a potential suitor in New Orleans, whose star Anthony Davis would welcome a coach of Thibodeau’s ilk.

“NBA coaching sources say there is unquestioned mutual interest between Thibodeau and the Pelicans, with Thibs naturally said to be very intrigued by the possibility of coaching Davis full-time after working with him last summer as a Team USA assistant alongside Williams under Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski.”

But before anyone can officially watch Thibodeau on the sidelines with the New Orleans Pelicans, there’s still the small matter of the two years left on his deal with the Chicago Bulls. And according to the Chicago Tribune, don’t expect Tom to simply walk away from what’s owed nor see the Bulls let him get away for nothing.

“With two years remaining on Thibodeau’s deal, management views him as an asset,” the Tribune writes. “It will seek compensation for him, although with the rest of the league mindful of how badly the relationship has deteriorated, leverage for high — if any — compensation would seem to be minimal.”

However, Thibodeau has gone on record telling reporters after the Bulls’ season-ending loss to the Cavaliers that “until they tell me I’m not, I expect to be here. That’s the way I approach it.”

So, if Thibodeau is staying put, is the only other option left to fire him and hold Chicago liable for the remaining two years on his contract? Not necessarily.

“The other option is to fire him over philosophical differences, assume he lands a job in which the offset in his Bulls contract would be utilized.”

What do you think? Has Tom Thibodeau coached his last game with the Chicago Bulls? Or willhe be back next season?

[Photo credit: Jonathan Daniel / Getty Images]