Gar Forman Touts Synergy, Trust That Fred Hoiberg Will Bring To Bulls
By Cody Westerlund--
CHICAGO (CBS) – Just five days after pointing to a lack of trust for largely bringing an end to the Tom Thibodeau era, Bulls general manager Gar Forman cited his comfort and familiarity with Fred Hoiberg as one of the biggest reasons for bringing him on as the 19th coach in franchise history.
"You've got to have a high, high level of communication to build trust," Forman said Tuesday afternoon at a press conference to introduce Hoiberg at the Advocate Center. "And when that breaks down, the trust breaks down and thus there are problems. I'm extremely confident we're going to have a high level of communication with Fred and us.
"The trust will continue to develop between ownership, the front office and Fred."
As the relationship between Forman, Bulls executive vice president John Paxson and Thibodeau deteriorated rapidly in the past year, Hoiberg had long been rumored to be on Chicago's radar. While Forman puzzlingly acted that he was surprised the search took less than a week, no one else was. Hoiberg and Forman go back two-plus decades, to when Hoiberg was a senior at Iowa State and Forman was an assistant coach there. Hoiberg also knew Paxson from a playing career that included four years with the Bulls.
Asked if he had any reservations about taking the Bulls job because of the drama that past coaches Vinny Del Negro and Thibodeau exited amid, Hoiberg was resolute in his response.
"I'm not," Hoiberg said when asked if he was concerned. "I'm very confident in my relationship with these guys. Like Gar said, I've known him for a long time. John was doing radio when I was playing here the first time, so I really got to know him at that time as well. I'm very comfortable with my relationship, and I'm excited about this moving forward.
"You have to have synergy with the coaching staff and the front office or it's going to tough to make it work. I think players can see through that sometimes."
Part of building that trust will be Hoiberg's quest to construct a quality coaching staff. The three Bulls assistants whose futures are currently in limbo – Adrian Griffin, Mike Wilhelm and Ed Pinckney – will all be under consideration to be on the new staff, Hoiberg said. He has past relationships with all three.
Hoiberg, 42, likely will add a veteran assistant coach, perhaps one with a defensive background that complements his offensive-minded approach. Hoiberg could also look to bring an Iowa State staffer or two with him to Chicago.
"I want to get a veteran assistant in here that can really help me through things," Hoiberg said. "Whether he's been a head coach or around the game for a really long time, that's going to be important with that hire."
Cody Westerlund is a sports editor for CBSChicago.com and covers the Bulls. Follow him on Twitter @CodyWesterlund.
