NEWSLETTER
No … Jim Boylen hasn’t been fired yet. Booooo!
But … there are reasons to be optimistic about a coaching change. Yayyyy!
However … the Bulls aren’t talking about that change just yet. BOOOOOO!
Yesterday, the Chicago Sun-Times added two important notes on why the Bulls are apparently taking a slower approach to the Jim Boylen employment decision, and it’s worth some extra attention on this lovely Friday evening. Let’s take them one at a time.
Note #1: To interim or not to interim?
According to a source, it’s not a staff where a glaring interim head coach can be had because they are all viewed to have equal experience.
Apparently the Bulls don’t find anyone on their bench worthy of the interim spot, which is rather bizarre. After all, if you really wanted to move on from Boylen *right now* and you wanted to go the in-house interim route, would it really be all that hard to choose? I wouldn’t think so. Fleming is technically the “lead” assistant on the bench, so wouldn’t it make sense to simply shift him over a chair? Yes, it would. So what gives?
Well, it’s more likely that the Bulls just don’t want to go the interim head coach route, regardless of the replacement, and that’s not all that crazy of a stance.
The season is on hiatus, and Boylen is nowhere near the players nor the media. So – in other words – he isn’t causing any trouble (and can’t call late-game timeouts). If Karnisovas did decide to fire him this second, that could semi-disrupt the normal-ish formula behind-the-scenes, with very little to actually gain. And indeed, Boylen has reportedly continued to stay busy, speaking with players and sending them film to go evaluate, so he’s still proving a necessary service during this suspension of play anyway.
We also learned in the report that Karnisovas and Boylen has been speaking “regularly to discuss the roster,” but I wouldn’t read too much into that. Every coach has to be in communication with their front office during a time like this. I’m sure it’s all strictly business to make sure everyone is still working/busy (hey, they got to earn that paycheck somehow).
Note #2: Let’s Wait for the New GM
Finally, the GM will likely want to assess Boylen and the staff, so Karnisovas needs to get that office chair filled first, before turning his full attention to the head coach’s office.
Now this is a little more straight forward, albeit with two distinct points. First, the Bulls brain power is already focused on one extremely important hiring, so why add something else to their plate before they’re through? Basically, tying to fill both vacancies at once – when there isn’t any rush to do so – wouldn’t be a wise use of resources and, more notably, just isn’t necessary. Second, Karnisovas may be running the show, but the Bulls will still want the input *and* buy-in from the new GM on this decision. So getting him on-boarded first is an easy, correct order of operations for the organization.
And to that end, an end-of-season parting from Boylen probably makes the most sense. The Bulls can jump-start an official coaching search much easier and more thoroughly with a more definitive offseason timeline and a new GM in place. The only potential issue with waiting is that teams like the Nets and Knicks might already be scavenging through the candidate pool, the problems with which we discussed yesterday.
In any case, Boylen’s status has remained unchanged for the last couple of weeks, and I’d expect it to stay that way. With no plan to look at an interim, it all boils down this: Boylen’s going to be the head coach until (1) we know the fate of the 2019-20 season, and/or (2) a new general manager is hired.
Oh well, good things come to those who wait, right?
Michael Cerami contributed to this post.
