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The decision to fire head coach Vinny Del Negro has already been made, according to sources with knowledge of the Chicago Bulls' thinking. The fact that the Bulls' front office has not been able to settle on a replacement is the main thing keeping the embattled Del Negro employed, the sources said.
There were discussions recently within the organization about having John Paxson, Chicago's executive vice president of basketball operations, take over the team, but Paxson ultimately decided against it. Then, according to sources, Chicago contacted former Bulls coach Doug Collins, a candidate for the job two years ago when Del Negro was hired, but Collins was not interested in coaching the club.
Phone messages left for Paxson and Bulls general manager Gar Forman were not returned.
By Mike McGraw (Daily Herald Blog)
Another report on the status of Bulls coach Vinny Del Negro was posted on ESPN.com Sunday. I agree with some parts, disagree with others -- so here’s a full rundown. Basically, things haven’t changed from the story I wrote in the Dec. 24 editions:
--The chances are close to zero that Del Negro is still the coach next summer when the Bulls start their free-agent push for Dwyane Wade, Joe Johnson, LeBron James and whoever else.
--The Bulls are NOT anxious to fire Del Negro. They’d rather he finish the season, thank the Bulls for giving him a great career opportunity and help him clean out his office.
--The Bulls have played a tough early schedule (Lakers, Denver, Boston, Cleveland, Atlanta all twice each). The slate starts to get a little easier and Tyrus Thomas is back from a broken arm. So if the Bulls stay competitive for a playoff spot, Del Negro should be fine.
Consider this stat: Once January is over, 13 of the Bulls’ final 17 road games are against teams that currently have a losing record.
