Billy Donovan's tenure with the Chicago Bulls has been precisely mediocre. Through his first four seasons with the franchise or 318 regular-season outings, he won 49.1% of games. In those four campaigns, his product only made the playoffs once, winning one game in the first round of the 2021 NBA Playoffs. The last two years have ended with losses in the NBA Play-In Tournament. The overall message? Donovan has been below average. Over the previous 14 months, several Chicago teams have experienced the same level of prolonged underwhelming performances across the board and have reacted accordingly. The Bears and Blackhawks held the number one overall picks in their selective drafts, the White Sox had a historically terrible summer, and the Bulls are on pace for their third consecutive absence from postseason play. What measures have fellow Chicago franchises taken to redirect their organizations, and will the Bulls follow suit?
Seven Chicago Head Coaches Fired Recently
Chicago is widely considered one of the most significant sports markets in the United States. A legitimate argument can be made for the marketing and history of the city, putting it in the ranks with Boston, Los Angeles, New York City, and Miami as some other heavy hitters. In recent memory, however, Chicago teams haven't lived up to the glory of representing the city and have seen a flurry of head coach firings as a result. Seven of the eight professional sports franchises in Chicago have seen their head coach relieved of his or her duties in the last 14 months. The lone survivor? Billy Donovan.
Tough year to be a head coach in Chicago🫠 pic.twitter.com/Nev5dwRXGS
— CHGO Sports (@CHGO_Sports) December 6, 2024
Donovan's four-year stint with the Bulls would rank in the bottom 50 all-time in head coach winning percentage with a minimum of 300 games coached. His winning rate ranks 7th lowest in franchise history amongst coaches with 150 or more games. Arturas Karnisovas has made it painfully obvious that he practices what he preaches, that continuity is king.
Odds Say He Gets Fired
The mind-blowing stats are endless. Donovan is the only Bulls coach with over 270 games and one or fewer playoff wins. Fred Hoiberg was fired in his fourth campaign, coached 270 games, and had double the number of playoff victories but a slightly lower winning percentage. According to Bovada Sports Official Sportsbook, the current leader has a similar future in his fifth year.
First NBA Coach Fired odds:
— Joe Ostrowski (@JoeOstrowski) October 23, 2024
+400 Billy Donovan
+500 Willie Green
+600 Chauncey Billups
+700 Quin Snyder
+900 Doc Rivers
Donovan’s 5th year with the Bulls starts tonight. Win total is 28.5
Although it is still a below-average output, the interesting twist on this season is that Chicago needs to finish as low in the standings as possible to continue their soft rebuild. This would mean retaining their top-ten overall pick currently protected and losing enough to justify shipping off their two aging former All-Star assets.
Billy Donovan could be first coach to ever be fired because he's coaching a team too well.
— Joe Cowley (@JCowleyHoops) December 6, 2024
Does Billy Donovan survive the season, or does he join the seven other Chicago franchises to fire their head coach since October of 2023?
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