Speculation Continues To Swirl Regarding Tom Thibodeau's Future With Bulls
(CBS) There's growing sentiment that only one solution exists to keep Bulls coach Tom Thibodeau in Chicago in the long term.
Winning big.
It's widely known that Thibodeau and the Bulls front office have a rocky relationship, for various reasons, but that has been thrust under a microscope following last Friday's comments from ESPN broadcaster Jeff Van Gundy -- a friend of Thibodeau's -- that team management has been undermining the coach.
In the days since, more league whispers have trickled out.
On Wednesday, 670 The Score host Dan Bernstein reported that there was a growing weariness in the Bulls locker room regarding how hard Thibodeau was pushing the team.
Also Wednesday, Chicago Sun-Times beat writer Joe Cowley joined the Mully and Hanley Show and said if he had to venture to guess now, Thibodeau and the team would part ways at season's end.
"This thing behind the scenes, it's ugly right now," Cowley said. "I don't think it's getting any better. And if you were to ask me right now, unless things change -- and obviously we have to see what happens in the playoffs -- I think the two sides will be parting ways after this season. That's just my opinion. I just don't see this relationship lasting too long.
"You hope things change. I think winning could cure that. But as of right now, if you were to ask me, Thibodeau's somewhere else after this year."
Asked what threshold of winning could keep Thibodeau in Chicago, Cowley said, "I don't know."
"I just have a feeling this front office is building its case why it should get rid of Thibodeau and has been since the beginning of the year," Cowley said.
On Thursday, Chicago Tribune beat writer K.C. Johnson shed more light on the issue.
Thibodeau isn't going to change, even while the speculation about his long-term future with the Bulls continues. Despite the two seasons left on the four-year extension Thibodeau took several months to sign in the 2012-13 season, several league sources believe Thibodeau's relationship with management is beyond repair.
And while there are no plans to replace Thibodeau during the season, a mutual parting of the ways after this season wouldn't surprise many league personnel familiar with the deteriorating dynamic.
Amid all the turmoil, the Bulls are 30-17 and in fourth place in the East. This is Thibodeau's fifth year in Chicago. His contract runs through the end of the 2016-'17 season.