Tom Thibodeau on departure from Chicago: 'I have no regrets'
Despite a tremendously messy breakup with the Chicago Bulls after five highly successful seasons as head coach, Tom Thibodeau is not looking for a do-over.
"I have no regrets," Thibodeau said on ESPN’s "Mike and Mike" radio program (as relayed by K.C. Johnson of the Chicago Tribune). "It was a great run. I just move on."
Thibodeau declined to comment on his hostile relationship with Bulls management and defended himself by pointing to the Bulls' sterling 255-139 record over his five seasons atop Chicago.
"Obviously, there were some issues. I don’t want to get into all that," Thibodeau said. "As I said, I’m very proud of what the team did. When I look back, it’s five years, I think anytime when you have a pro franchise, there’s going to be some carping that goes on along the way. When I look back, I’d rather focus in on the positives. It was a great experience for me. I loved our players. I loved my staff."
The Bulls fired Thibodeau last week and quickly replaced him with former Iowa State bench boss Fred Hoiberg.
The rift between Thibodeau and Chicago was one of the worst kept secrets in the league.
The Bulls fired Thibodeau's assistant Ron Adams (now with the Golden State Warriors) and neglected to re-sign a number of Thibodeau's favorite veterans (Kyle Korver comes to mind). Meanwhile, Thibodeau ignored many of the Bulls' directives to ease the players' workload which likely fed into Chicago's substantial injury woes.
Still, the rocky relationship had positive results.
Thibodeau was helped by ownership's deft touch – most notably in the draft – but Thibodeau did manage to lead Chicago to heights not seen since the Michael Jordan era. That included two top-place finishes atop the East and a Coach of the Year award for Thibodeau. And had injuries and bad luck not intervened, the Bulls might have even come away with a title as well.
Nevertheless, Thibodeau and management couldn't see eye to eye and the parties have moved on. In doing so, Chicago was able to nab a fine replacement in Hoiberg and Thibodeau becomes the hottest coaching name on the market. It's a win for both sides.