Jim Boylen Fired as Bulls Head Coach After 2 Seasons

Mark Lennihan/Associated Press

Jim Boylen is out as the Chicago Bulls head coach after fewer than two full seasons, the NBA team announced Friday.

“No one could question Jim’s passion for our team and our organization,” president Michael Reinsdorf said. “We sincerely appreciate his tireless efforts and contributions during his time with the Bulls, and we wish him and his family the very best.”

Chicago is headed in a new direction after hiring Arturas Karnisovas as its new executive vice president of basketball operations. Karnisovas also released a statement about the decision:

“After doing a comprehensive evaluation and giving the process the time it deserved, I ultimately decided that a fresh approach and evolution in leadership was necessary. This was a very difficult decision, but it is time for our franchise to take that next step as we move in a new direction and era of Chicago Bulls basketball. Jim is a great human being that cares deeply about this organization and the game of basketball. I want to thank him for his professionalism and commitment to the franchise.”

The Bulls promoted Boylen, 55, from associate head coach to head coach after they fired Fred Hoiberg in December 2018, and it was his first head coaching job in the NBA. He had extensive experience as an assistant for the Houston Rockets, Milwaukee Bucks, Indiana Pacers, San Antonio Spurs and Bulls but had only been a collegiate coach at the University of Utah.

He coached the Utes for four seasons from 2007-08 through 2010-11 and lost in the first round in the one NCAA tournament he made.

Chicago struggled to a 17-41 mark in Boylen’s 58 games as head coach in his first season, but the losing record was not the only concern.

K.C. Johnson of NBC Sports Chicago reported in Boylen’s first month in the position that “players started a group text exchange debating whether to show up at practice facility.” They were not pleased with the physically grueling and long practices, especially the day after games.

Even with the issues, there were high expectations in place for the team entering the 2019-20 campaign, with young talent such as Zach LaVine, Lauri Markkanen, Coby White, Otto Porter Jr. and Wendell Carter.

Instead, the injuries and frustrating losses piled up.

Boylen’s insistence on calling timeouts in the final moments of games when Chicago was well behind also became a narrative to the point LaVine was visibly upset by one and used an expletive when saying “why we calling a timeout down 10,” per Jamal Collier of the Chicago Tribune.

Collier noted the two “aired their frustrations” during a subsequent meeting even though their relationship was “rocky at times” even before that incident.

What’s more, Sam Amick and John Hollinger of The Athletic reported in December 2019, “Boylen remains unpopular in the Chicago locker room, which isn’t surprising given that his tenure began with a near-mutiny over his grueling practices and formation of the much-derided ‘Leadership Committee.'”

With the frustration and relationship issues serving as the backdrop, Boylen led the Bulls to a 22-43 record in a shortened 2019-20 season as the team missed the playoffs for the third straight season, which cost him his job.

He did not even have the Bulls in position to be invited to Walt Disney World Resort in Orlando, Florida, for the 22-team format for a return to play following a hiatus for the COVID-19 pandemic.