Will the Bulls Fire Del Negro

December 9, 2009

Josh Herman noticed something that I hadn’t quite put together recently, and that is the Bulls like to get rid of their coaches right around Christmas.  Will the Bulls fire Del Negro around the holiday season as well?

Let’s take a look at the recent head coaches for Chicago that have left the team around this time of the year:

2001: Tim Floyd resigned on Christmas Eve, citing that it was best for himself and his family to leave.  There is no doubt though that there was pressure from Jerry Krause and Jerry Reinsdorf to settle on such a fate.

2003: The Bulls couldn’t even wait for December when they decided to pull the plug on Bill Cartwright, firing him on Nov. 24.

2007: Christmas Eve once again proved to be a great pink slip day when the Bulls decided to part ways with Scott Skiles.

2009: ????

Bulls head coach Vinny Del Negro has to be feeling like he’s on the hot seat. Chicago had high hopes this year after taking the defending champion Boston Celtics to a 7th game in last year’s playoffs.  Then even without Ben Gordon, the team got off to a fast start with wins over the Spurs and Cavs.

Things have gone south rather quickly since though.  Starting with a 1-6 circus trip in mid-November, the Bulls have recently lost in Cleveland and against Toronto at home, but these weren’t just losses, they were pitiful.

That was until Tuesday night when the laughing stock of the NBA, the New Jersey Nets came to the United Center.  After a decent first half, the Nets pulled away in the third and despite a comeback in the fourth, the Bulls lost 103-101. The Nets win was only their second all season meaning the Bulls joined the likes of the Charlotte Bobcats in falling to New Jersey.

So now it looks as if the question isn’t will Del Negro get fired, but when?

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