Bulls fire coach Skiles; no replacement named yet Updated: December 24, 2007, 12:42 PM ET Bulls coach Scott Skiles has lost his job as a result of his team's slow start. The Bulls have lost three of their last four games and were booed throughout Saturday's home loss to the Rockets. Despite high expectations, the Bulls (9-16) have the third worst record in the Eastern Conference. "This was a difficult decision to make, but one that was necessary at this time," general manager John Paxson said in a statement Monday. "Scott helped us in many ways during his time with the Bulls; most importantly, he helped this franchise get back to respectability. I am appreciative of his hard work and the imprint that he left on our team." The Bulls said no decision has been made on a replacement for Skiles. Ben Wallace said Saturday he would welcome personnel changes if it would help the club. "That's one of those things that goes along with this league," said Wallace. "Change is not always bad. If everybody wants to be here we have to step it up and go out there and play basketball." Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.
wow, that was fast. i thought the bulls were going to be at top 4 team in the east but they've been so bad this year.
Question is, who are they gonna replace Skiles with who'll be as good as if not better than him? Skiles is a pretty good coach. At this point in time, I'm not sure if they'd find anyone who's better than him.
Not really. He lost this team and they were tired of him. It wasn't just trade rumors and contracts. Now the players can relax, play and focus on being a team instead of worrying about personality issues with Skiles. I am very glad he's gone. I wonder if they will grab LB or JVG.
I take my post back. Totally forgot about the broadcasting guys (JVG, Hubie etc) who might be available. Still, I think Skiles is a very good coach. His attitude and intensity might not be everyone's cup of tea, but it's refreshing for once. Plus he can coach offense, unlike JVG. The Bulls' drive and kick offense is a thing of beauty when they're hitting their shots. Kinda like ours was when we had Sura, Wesley and Barry a few years back.
man, apparently losing to the rockets these days is so bad that you just get fired the next day. beware future coaches.
I guess the Rockets was the icing on the cake for Scott Skiles. You could hear the crowd boo the Bulls on the game Saturday night. Also, people were throwing a bunch of stuff on the court. There was one instance where an object hit one of the guys sitting at the media table.
exactly. if theres anyone whose going to get the most out of ben wallace (and his fat contract) it's going to be jvg. i don't know how crappy the team's defense is, but i'm pretty sure jeff could come in there, clean up their act and get them into respectable status the fastest out of those who are available.
He can coach offense, unlike JVG who coached the offense that you compare Chicago's to? I think JVG would be a great fit for Chicago. Lots of good players without a superstar. JVG could mold that into a fantastic team, I think.
Don't think Jeff is so desperate to coach to uproot his family midseason when he has a pretty sweet ESPN gig. About Skiles... he's probably partly responsible, but he was also put in a rather untenable situation by the management-- the pending free agents, the failure to get extensions done, a washed-up Ben Wallace. Reminds me of how the early 2000s Clippers team broke apart with multiple young guys playing selfishly as pending free agents. In any case, I wonder what the Bulls will do next... maybe there is an opportunity for the Rockets to pick up a piece or two. Joe Smith, for one, might be useful.
He lost the team because you have two pending free agents who are hunting their own contracts and were not willing to extend because of the trade rumors involving them and Kobe. Those guys are not playing as a unit. They are playing for their contract. They didn't extend, so they aren't gonna lay it all out and risk injuring themselves or do anything that could risk their next big deal. Skiles was the victim in all this. He's the same coach he was last year when they were playing great. He is a very good NBA coach.
