ESPN analyst and former NBA coach Jeff Van Gundy has long been a vocal supporter and advocate for his compatriots in the coaching ranks, and this year that's meant speaking up for now-former Chicago Bulls coach Tom Thibodeau, who was fired Thursday after months of tension and publicized finger-pointing in the media.
Van Gundy ripped into the Bulls front office for their handling of the situation during an ESPN broadcast in January, and he isn't backing off that stance now that the long-suspected firing has been made official.
He has, however, extended his outrage to the Chicago media, who he feels collectively enabled and empowered the Bulls organization to tear Thibodeau down while protecting themselves. It's part of what Van Gundy sees as a disconcerting pattern.
"The other thing that really bothers me," Van Gundy told ESPN's Stephen A. Smith on Thursday, "was the participation of so many in the Chicago media in a one-sided, prolonged smear campaign to try to diminish Tom's accomplishments there. I found it really repulsive, and I actually feel bad for those people, that they feel so tied to the information that they're receiving from leaks that they won't objectively assess a situation, where a team continuously has problems with their coaches, and seemingly always blaming their coaches."
He continued:
I just disagree with how they go about things. The bad thing is not being fired. The bad thing is having to endure the personal attacks over a long period of time, that's well coordinated and, really, downright vicious.
Tom Thibodeau - this is his first head coaching job, so he has no pattern of history with friction with really anybody. The pattern of friction comes from the Bulls side. But again, they're able to manipulate the Chicago media, in a way that they portray the problem (as) being with their coaches always.
Van Gundy and Thibodeau are both rumored to be in the mix for the New Orleans Pelicans' vacant head coaching position, though recent reports suggest the Pelicans aren't as high on Thibodeau as initially suspected. Despite what could be seen as professional competition, Van Gundy had only positive things to say about Thibodeau.
"When you coach five years in the NBA in any one place, you have really done a great job," he said. "Because very few get to five years."
Van Gundy also dropped any pretense of ignorance as to who the next Bulls head coach will be.
"Hopefully they treat their next head coach better. You know, Fred Hoiberg and his staff," he said. "Fred's a good man, and he's a good coach, and I hope he gets treated well. I hope he gets treated really well."
