It's a done deal: Thibodeau next Bulls head coach

Posted June 04, 2010 11:00 pm

Mike McGraw

In one respect, the timing of the Bulls' decision to hire Boston assistant Tom Thibodeau as their next head coach couldn't be better.

The transaction won't be official until after the NBA Finals are over, but Thibodeau accepted the Bulls' offer of a three-year deal worth around $10 million on Saturday afternoon. He replaces Vinny Del Negro, who was let go after two seasons.

Between now and the formal news conference, ABC analyst Jeff Van Gundy will have several opportunities to plug his prize pupil to the Finals audience, which is likely to include several of the summer's free agents.

Thibodeau coached on Van Gundy's staff for 10 years in New York and Houston. Here's what Van Gundy said about Thibodeau in an interview with the Newark Star-Ledger last month:

"The guy has been so good for so long that he's been taken for granted. And Tom now has this thing where he's known as a defensive guy, which he's great at - not good, great. But he also is very good offensively. And it's the reason why I hired him initially in New York - his work with individual players. He had incredibly good offensive ideas. His work with (Rockets center) Yao Ming still gets overlooked because Yao is hurt a lot. But in Yao's last full year, he was an MVP candidate."

Thibodeau, 50, has been an NBA assistant for 18 years. The New Britain, Conn., native made the jump from assistant coach at Harvard to the pros by initiating a correspondence with Bill Musselman, who was then coaching the CBA's Albany Patroons.

When Musselman became head coach of the expansion Minnesota Timberwolves in 1989, he hired Thibodeau for his staff. Since then, Thibodeau has worked for Seattle, San Antonio, Philadelphia, New York, Houston and Boston.

Thibodeau jumped to the top of the Bulls' list when his defensive strategies helped the Celtics upset LeBron James and Cleveland, then Dwight Howard and Orlando in this year's playoffs.

"Tom knows his stuff," Celtics center Kendrick Perkins said in The Boston Globe. "He eats, sleeps, and breathes defense."

"I have no trouble following a guy who knows exactly where he's going," added Boston forward Glen Davis.

An NBA assistant who has worked with Thibodeau in the past provided a preview of what the Bulls can expect from their next coach.

"He's very organized," said the assistant, who asked not to be identified. "Tom's going to be in the office working and they're going to be prepared for every situation they come across.

"He's big into scouting. Some coaches don't believe in it, but Tom's going to be on the high end of being prepared. He wants all the (play) calls, wants to be at the opponents' last game."

Some profiles have characterized Thibodeau as one of those dedicated professionals married to his job. He doesn't have a wife or kids, after all.

"It's not like he hasn't had girlfriends," said the former Thibodeau co-worker. "He's a guy who works. I think he wants to be around people who take pride in what they do.

"The guy never lost in summer league, which is no big deal, but that's one thing he prepared for. He coached in the rookie-sophomore game (in 2008) and guys told me he took that game very seriously."

Thibodeau's only head coaching experience was one season at Salem (Mass.) State, his alma mater.

Among those talked about as possibilities to join Thibodeau's coaching staff are Oklahoma City assistants Maurice Cheeks and Ron Adams, along with recent Memphis assistant Andy Greer.

Cheeks, a Chicago native, was one of the top candidates for the Bulls' head coaching job. Adams is a former Bulls assistant who left in 2008, while Greer was head coach at Northern Illinois in 2000-01.

Pete Myers and Randy Brown are likely to remain on the coaching staff, while Mike Wilhelm, who has been with the Bulls since Bill Cartwright's regime, might end up staying.

Thibodeau is represented by the same agency as James, the Cavaliers' prized free agent. The Bulls believe they have a chance to sign the two-time MVP this summer, which might be one reason Thibodeau turned down an offer from New Orleans to join the Bulls.

Tom Thibodeau gives instructions as forward Kevin Garnett looks on during practice, Saturday. Associated Press

The Thibodeau file Here's a glance at Tom Thibodeau's coaching history and personal background: Age: 50 Hometown: New Britain, Conn. College: Salem (Mass.) State Coaching jobs 1981-84: Assistant, Salem State 1984-85: Head coach, Salem State 1985-89: Assistant, Harvard 1989-91: Assistant, Minnesota Timberwolves (Bill Musselman) 1991-92: Advance scout, Seattle Super Sonics (K.C. Jones, George Karl) 1992-94: Assistant, San Antonio Spurs (Jerry Tarkanian, John Lucas) 1994-96: Assistant, Philadelphia 76ers (John Lucas) 1996-2003: Assistant, New York Knicks (Jeff Van Gundy, Don Chaney) 2003-07: Assistant, Houston Rockets (Van Gundy) 2007-10: Assistant, Boston Celtics (Doc Rivers) (Head coaches he worked under listed in parentheses) Source: NBA

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