Bulls Head Coaches, From Kerr to Donovan

 

Today, the Bulls introduced Billy Donovan as their next head coach. "Once he became available," executive vice president of basketball operations Arturas Karnisovas said, "we were relentless in terms of trying to find ways to continue communication and kind of to prove to Billy that we are the spot for him. And we were able to do it." 

     Donovan explained why he chose the Bulls over other suitors. "I mean, it's an iconic franchise," he said, "and certainly to be a part of trying to help build it back up was certainly very, very appealing and exciting. I know it's going to take a lot of work."  

     We'll take it as a good sign that Donovan brings a much more impressive resume than any of his predecessors carried into the job. Only time will tell how well he does, but it's safe to say that he could hardly do worse than his immediate predecessor, Jim Boylen (not to be confused with Jim Boylan, who also served as head coach of the Bulls).

    

PHIL JACKSON with MICHAEL JORDAN.

Phil Jackson, of course, is the most successful coach in Bulls history by a wide margin. Strangely, both he and the Bulls' second most successful coach, Tom Thibodeau, were each succeeded in the job by a college coach from Iowa State who had never coached in the NBA before and never would again after leaving the Bulls. (Apologies to Cyclones fans for that one.)

     Jackson and Jerry Sloan are the only Bulls coaches to be inducted into the Hall of Fame. As a player, Sloan was the heart and soul of some excellent Bulls teams in the early 1970s. He earned his place in the Hall during a long run as head coach of  the Utah Jazz. 

     The irrepressible Johnny "Red" Kerr was the Bulls' first head coach, and he is one of four to have won the NBA Coach of the Year award. The others are Dick Motta (1971), Jackson (1996), and Thibodeau (2011). Kerr is best remembered today as a Bulls broadcaster from 1975 to 2008. He loved the Bulls as much as Ron Santo loved the Cubs.

     Rod Thorn was the Bulls' general manager when he assumed coaching duties for the latter part of the 1981-82 season. A more enduring claim to fame is that he drafted Michael Jordan in 1984.

     Below is the complete list of Bulls head coaches, with their regular-season records.

 

 

Years	Coach	W.	L.	Pct.
1966 - 1968	Johnny "Red" Kerr	62	101	.380
1968 - 1976	Dick Motta	356	300	.543
1976 - 1978	Ed Badger	84	80	.512
1978 - 1979	Larry Costello	20	36	.357
1979	Scotty Robertson	11	15	.423
1979 - 1982	Jerry Sloan	94	121	.437
1982	Phil Johnson	0	1	.000
1982	Rod Thorn	15	15	.500
1982 - 1983	Paul Westhead	28	54	.341
1983 - 1985	Kevin Loughery	65	99	.396
1985 - 1986	Stan Albeck	30	52	.366
1986 - 1989	Doug Collins	137	109	.557
1989 - 1998	Phil Jackson	545	193	.738
1998 - 2001	Tim Floyd	49	190	.205
2001	Bill Berry	0	2	.000
2001 - 2003	Bill Cartwright	51	100	.338
2003	Pete Myers	0	1	.000
2003 - 2007	Scott Skiles	146	125	.539
2007	Pete Myers	0	1	.000
2007 - 2008	Jim Boylan	24	32	.429
2008 - 2010	Vinny Del Negro	82	82	.500
2010 - 2015	Tom Thibodeau	255	139	.647
2015 - 2018	Fred Hoiberg	115	155	.426
2018 - 2020	Jim Boylen	39	84	.317

  

 

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