Tom Thibodeau out in Chicago as Bulls seek 'change in approach'

— -- The Chicago Bulls fired head coach Tom Thibodeau on Thursday.

Thibodeau just finished his fifth season leading the Bulls, who were eliminated by the Cleveland Cavaliers in the Eastern Conference semifinals earlier this month. He had two years and nearly $9 million remaining on his contract.

The 2010-11 NBA Coach of the Year had a .647 win percentage in the regular season (255-139) for Chicago, and that was with star point guard Derrick Rose playing only 181 of 394 games because of injuries. His teams excelled defensively, ranking first in the league in points per game (92.6) and field goal percentage (43.2) since the 2010-11 season, his first.

But sources say the Bulls' dissatisfaction with their coach, beyond the well-chronicled tension between Thibodeau and Bulls general manager Gar Forman and executive vice president John Paxson, had risen in the wake of Chicago's inability to beat the injury-plagued Cavaliers in the playoffs and a lack of offensive flow to match that usual defensive tenacity.

"The Chicago Bulls have a history of achieving great success on and off the court," Bulls chairman Jerry Reinsdorf said in a statement announcing the firing. "These accomplishments have been possible because of an organizational culture where input from all parts of the organization has been welcomed and valued, there has been a willingness to participate in a free flow of information, and there have been clear and consistent goals. While the head of each department of the organization must be free to make final decisions regarding his department, there must be free and open interdepartmental discussion and consideration of everyone's ideas and opinions. These internal discussions must not be considered an invasion of turf, and must remain private. Teams that consistently perform at the highest levels are able to come together and be unified across the organization-staff, players, coaches, management and ownership. When everyone is on the same page, trust develops and teams can grow and succeed together.

"Unfortunately, there has been a departure from this culture. To ensure that the Chicago Bulls can continue to grow and succeed, we have decided that a change in the head coaching position is required. Days like today are difficult, but necessary for us to achieve our goals and fulfill our commitments to our fans. I appreciate the contributions that Tom Thibodeau made to the Bulls organization. I have always respected his love of the game and wish him well in the future."

Thibodeau's tenure will be defined for the consistent hardworking culture he helped instill back into the franchise for the first time since Michael Jordan left. During his first four years, his teams made it a habit of overachieving in the regular season and then running out of gas, and talent, in the playoffs.

Overall, the Bulls struggled in the postseason under Thibodeau, going 23-28 in five appearances, none of which resulted in a trip to the NBA Finals. The furthest they went was the East finals in 2010-11, losing to LeBron James and the Miami Heat in five games.

In all, James-led teams in both Miami and Cleveland ended three of the Bulls' five Thibodeau-led seasons.

Chicago's offense, meanwhile, fluctuated under the 57-year-old Thibodeau. The team's offensive rating (points per 100 possessions) ranked 24th in 2012-13 and 28th in 2013-14 before improving to 10th this season. It didn't help that Rose dealt with knee injuries much of the time. Thibodeau was 132-49 (.729) with the 2010-11 league MVP during the regular season and 123-90 (.577) without him.

Thibodeau's fifth season was when the writing appeared to be on the wall for a divorce between team and coach. After watching the group appear to run out of gas yet again during the postseason, Forman and Paxson told Thibodeau that Rose and center Joakim Noah were not to play more than 32 minutes a game during the season as they made their way back from knee surgeries. It was the first time in Thibodeau's tenure that he wasn't allowed to make all his own decisions on the floor, and his frustration regarding the edict was present throughout the season.

The Bulls continued to have success, but the consistency that defined them during Thibodeau's tenure went missing during parts of this season. Players still respected Thibodeau for the work he put in, but they chafed at his pedal-to-the-metal approach after five years of hearing the same message.

"When Tom was hired in 2010, he was right for our team and system at that time, and over the last five years we have had some success with Tom as our head coach," Forman said in a statement. "But as we looked ahead and evaluated how we as a team and an organization could continue to grow and improve, we believed a change in approach was needed."

Now, the Bulls will be searching for their 22nd head coach in franchise history (including interim).

Their interest in Iowa State's Fred Hoiberg as a replacement for Thibodeau has been an open secret around the league for months, but it is not yet clear whether Chicago has a commitment from Hoiberg to make the jump to the pros. The Minnesota Timberwolves also are known to have a strong interest in Hoiberg.

Thibodeau, meanwhile, may not be out of work for long.

The New Orleans Pelicans and Orlando Magic are known to be interested in speaking to him about their head-coaching vacancies. Former Magic guard Scott Skiles is the widely reported front-runner for the Orlando job, while Golden State Warriors associate head coach Alvin Gentry and ESPN analyst Jeff Van Gundy have emerged as the known top candidates in New Orleans along with Thibodeau.

ESPN.com reported last week that Nuggets interim coach Melvin Hunt's odds of keeping that job full time have improved since season's end, but Thibodeau was realistically never a candidate in Denver anyway.

Sources told ESPN on Wednesday that the Bulls are confident they won't have to pay the bulk of Thibodeau's contract if another team hires him because of "set-off provisions" in coaching deals.

Information from ESPN.com's Marc Stein was used in this report.