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Less than a month ago, the Chicago Bulls front office underwent a major earthquake when the leadership fired vice president of basketball operations Arturas Karnisovas and general manager Marc Eversley following a disappointing finish to the regular season. The Bulls went 31-51 and missed the playoffs.
The organization expressed a strong desire to retain head coach Billy Donovan, who had been with the team since 2020. In early April, the Bulls made it clear they wanted Donovan to keep his job despite making major changes at other leadership positions. His role wasn’t in question.
“If I interview someone and they’re not sold on Billy, they’re not sold on a Hall of Fame coach. If Billy wants to be our coach and someone’s not interested in that, then they’re probably not the right candidate for us,” said CEO and president Michael Reinsdorf after the organization announced the front office changes. That’s how sold he was on Donovan. But Donovan never confirmed his intention to stay in Chicago – he was to meet with the leadership about his future with the Bulls, and after a couple of weeks of talks and consideration, he ultimately decided to step down and move on.
“After a series of thoughtful and extensive discussions with ownership regarding the future of the organization, I have decided to step away as the head coach of the Chicago Bulls, to allow the search process to unfold,” said Donovan. “I believe it is in the best interest of the Bulls to allow the new leader to build out the staff as they see fit.”
The former head coach was inducted into the Naismith Hall of Fame in 2025. He’s spent 11 seasons in the NBA; Donovan started his stint with the Oklahoma City Thunder, where he coached the team for five years and went 243-157. With Donovan in charge, the Thunder made the playoffs every season. It was a massively different situation in Chicago. The 60-year-old leader took over a struggling squad six years ago, and the goal was to restore competitiveness. Donovan did improve the team record in his debut year and then punched a postseason ticket in his second season on Chicago’s bench. But that proved to be the ceiling for Donovan and the Bulls.
