Fred Hoiberg To Accept Bulls’ Job If Offered Iowa State A.D. Hints

Is Fred Hoiberg on his way out of Iowa State? Iowa State athletic director Jamie Pollard hints that maybe the case. CBS Sports’ Gary Parish reports that if Hoiberg is offered the head coaching job with his former team, the Chicago Bulls, he will accept it.

A position with the Bulls is not available yet. Current Chicago coach Tom Thibodeau is still under contract for two more seasons. Differences with the front office regarding Thibodeau’s coaching methods and substation habits have strained a once strong relationship.

General manager Gar Forman and team vice president John Paxson want the core players to play less, giving more playing opportunities to the younger players. There has been a reluctance on Thibodeau’s part to oblige.

Enter Fred Hoiberg.

Just now on @670TheScore @WojYahooNBA said if the Chicago Bulls make a change, the job is Fred Hoiberg’s if he wants it.

— Jerry Gallagher KWWL (@JerryGallagher) May 15, 2015

Hoiberg has a good relationship for Gar Forman which goes back to their days at Iowa State. It is the belief that they share philosophical ideas on how to build a roster and how to craft a better offense suited for the players that are on the team. Hoiberg’s Iowa State teams have been one of the better offensive teams in college basketball. They run sets that are typically used by NBA head coaches. That would make his transition to the Bulls be a seamless one.

No decision has yet to be made, but the writing is on the wall if you can read behind the words of Jamie Pollard in the Ames Times.

“I think everyone needs to take a step away from the ledge. I recognize it’s tough on (the media), it’s tough on the players, it’s tough on fans. At the end of the day, Fred has done a tremendous amount for our institution and the last five years has been pretty special.”

Pollard senses that the end is near and how he is handling himself during this time is admirable. He knows that his college basket team is in limbo. They are waiting to see what happens in Chicago. All he can do is be patient.

Time is of the essence up in Chicago. They must make a determination sooner rather than later. Right now, their stalemate with Thibodeau is looking bad for both sides.

Everybody knows that Tom Thibodeau is a good NBA coach. You know what you are going to get from him night in and night out. He is the coaching version of a gym rat. The moment he hits the open market he will assuredly be hired by another team. If the Bulls want to have a say in where he goes, while getting some compensation for him they need to act now. They need to cash in on one of the top 3 or four coaches in the league. They must do that in order bring in the unknown.

Fred Hoiberg is a good, good college coach. How he will fare in the NBA remains to be seen, but in order for everyone to get off of the ledge it is time to find out how good of a coach he can be.

The clock is ticking, Fred Hoiberg already has one step out of Iowa State and one foot inside the Chicago Bulls organization.

[Photo by Joe Robbins/Getty Images Sport]