Firing Skiles was a big mistake

"He's got heart."

It's a simple line from "Invincible," the movie about Philadelphia bartender Vince Papale trying to make the NFL's Eagles in an open tryout in 1976.

On the day of final cuts, it's down to Papale and one other player, and coach Dick Vermeil is polling his coaches on whom they should keep.

It's unanimous: keep the other player.

Vermeil, though, sees through the small difference in ability and almost whispers the line, "He's got heart."

After much inner struggle, Vermeil decides to keep Papale.

I've often thought of this story this season while watching the Bulls flounder during an embarrassing 28-43 campaign.

This team used to thrive on heart, on desire, on a burning desire to win at all costs.

But now? Agents and personal agendas (and a few injuries) have gotten in the way.

The Bulls played so poorly early on, it was if they were trying to get coach Scott Skiles fired. And perhaps they were.

And that's where GM John Paxson and owner Jerry Reinsdorf made a huge mistake.

Instead of kowtowing to their underachieving group, they should have taken the opposite approach by calling a team meeting and having Paxson declare, "This man is your coach. I hired him for a reason: because I believe in what he stands for. And he's not going anywhere. If you think playing like this is going to get your coach fired so things are easier around here, you are mistaken.

"This team got here with hard work, scrappy play and talent. Go back to playing that way and put away any personal agendas or axes you have to grind. Play for me, your coach, this organization and especially this city. And I promise you, we will win again."

This would have sent an emphatic message that Paxson wasn't about to allow his players to dictate how the team would be run.

Would it have worked? Would the Bulls have responded and played like they used to?

It's difficult to say, but it would have been interesting to watch play out.

Instead, what the Bulls did by firing Skiles was akin to a parent trying to appease a tantrum-throwing child through any means possible except discipline.

The crybaby wins, and if it goes on long enough, it becomes nearly impossible to find his good heart.

In this case, the baby Bulls won. And their hearts are nowhere to be found.