If This Is It For Donovan, The Bulls Have Some Intruiging Options

The first part of the week was all about Chicago’s head coach, Billy Donovan. Joe Cowley started a media frenzy with his report and speculation that these could be the final nine games for the Bulls’ current head coach. The reasons he cited were the lack of motivation to embark on a rebuild, something Donovan has always affirmed and left Oklahoma City because of; some off-court personal life hardships that have weighed heavily on the soon-to-be 61-year-old; and the overall stress this season has provided. With the North Carolina job opening the following day, as has been the case with blue-blood coaching opportunities over the past decade, Donovan’s name was immediately brought up and ranked highly as a potential replacement. If any combination of these rumors is true, and the Bulls are on the hunt for a new head coach, here’s where they will turn.

Plucking From The College Level

The first thing to look at when gauging potential Chicago hires is what the franchise has done in the past. As for Arturas Karnisovas specifically, that’ll come later down the list, but for the organization, it’s been a mixed bag.

In 2010, they hired Tom Thibodeau, a first-time head coach who had been an assistant for two decades before his first shot at the job. Keep in mind, Thibodeau is the best hire they’ve had since Phil Jackson in 1989. After that, they tried the college route, grabbing Fred Hoiberg from Iowa State University. He was one of the quickest rising, most respected coaches at that level, but did not translate well to the professional stage and was dismissed in the middle of his fourth season. Jim Boylen finished that year and carried over to the next, but finished with the lowest winning percentage in franchise history, and is classified as an internal promotion hire. Lastly, Donovan was the most recent, an established NBA head coach with a successful track record, and had a mediocre run with the Bulls. The evidence points in four different directions as to what comes next.

With the roster among the youngest in the NBA and half of the players on expiring deals, this is the most flexible coaching vacancy. If they opt for a developmental leader to align with the youthful core, Jon Scheyer is a name that comes to mind. This is a long-shot scenario, as is any college coach in a similar situation, but he does have Chicago ties and aspirations to coach professional basketball. He was once Illinois’ Mr. Basketball as a youngster, and if he wins the National Championship this season, it would check the only box he’s got left at the collegiate level.

BREAKING:

Sources close to the situation have indicated there may be mutual interest between The Bulls and Jon Scheyer if, and when, they move on from Billy Donovan

Scheyer, a Chicago native, is currently 109-23 at Duke with a loaded recruiting class incoming yet again pic.twitter.com/CWYuRrJ6ru

— Hoop Herald (@TheHoopHerald) February 1, 2026

Using Karnisovas’s Pattern (With Caution)

Estimating the next head coach for the Chicago Bulls is a nearly impossible task at this very moment. For starters, there’s a growing chance that ownership could opt to clean house entirely, meaning Arturas Karnisovas, Marc Eversley, and other front-office members who normally appoint the next head coach will no longer be in charge. If that’s the case, it’s anyone’s guess who will be at the helm on the floor or for basketball operations as a whole.

Assuming the front office stays mostly intact, Karnisovas’s lone head coaching hire was former Oklahoma City Thunder head coach, suggesting his tendency is to pursue an established NBA leader. In this case, the number one candidate is Michael Malone. He’s no stranger to losing, having headed a sub-.500 products for the first four years of his head coaching career, and missed the playoffs in his first five. After the slow start, he qualified for the NBA Playoffs for six straight seasons, including an NBA Championship and five trips to the Western Conference semifinals or beyond. Of course, it’s a huge help when one of your top contributors is a three-time NBA MVP, Nikola Jokic, but Malone was also pivotal in their deep postseason runs.

"I'm definitely not done coaching."

Former Nuggets HC Michael Malone sets the record straight on Inside the NBA pic.twitter.com/2qli9HJyKd

— NBA on ESPN (@ESPNNBA) October 23, 2025

This sounds like someone ready to dig in, invest in the future, and bring a historic franchise back to relevance. His first two years in Denver reflected a 73-91 standing, so a rebuild is right up his alley.

Would you rather have Chicago go for an established NBA coach or try their luck at the collegiate level again to bring a youthful mind that matches the young core?