Update: Ohio State has offered its head coaching job to Creighton’s Greg McDermott, according to ESPN’s Jeff Goodman.
Bulls coach Fred Hoiberg is ‘a real candidate’ to replace Thad Matta at Ohio State
Chicago would have to let Hoiberg leave, but it sounds like that is a possibility.
Photo by Jonathan Daniel/Getty Images
Fred Hoiberg is ‘a real candidate’ to become the next head basketball coach for the Ohio State Buckeyes, according to CBS Sports’ Gary Parrish. Longtime Ohio State coach Thad Matta announced his immediate retirement on Monday.
Hoiberg, however, quickly denied the rumors and insisted he will be staying in Chicago.
Hoiberg signed a five-year contract reportedly worth $25 million with the Bulls in 2015, but the team hasn’t hit expectations in the two seasons that he’s been on the sideline. After missing the playoffs in 2016, the Bulls snuck into the postseason this year as the No. 8 seed and beat the top-seeded Boston Celtics twice before losing in six games.
To be fair to Hoiberg, the Bulls’ high expectations this season — after signing Rajon Rondo and Dwyane Wade — were always misguided. Many, including us at SB Nation, predicted that the “three alphas” approach wouldn’t work well due to a dearth of shooting and other fit issues offensively. At one point, Hoiberg benched Rondo and then brought him off the bench in a smaller role. When the Bulls did surge at the end of the year, it was in large part due to an injury to Wade, which allowed Hoiberg to play with more shooting and spacing, similar to the style that led him to success in his six seasons at Iowa State.
Because Hoiberg is under contract, he would need permission from the Bulls to leave for the college ranks. Chicago ownership continues to express faith in the team’s front office of Gar Forman and John Paxson, so if Hoiberg doesn’t feel like they are allowing him to play his style, perhaps they can mutually agree on a departure. Hoiberg and Forman are close friends, which could also factor into the decision in Hoiberg’s favor. He’d immediately have a big name college program to take over if the Bulls did release him, something that would presumably be essential for Hoiberg leaving.
Ohio State is also meeting with Creighton coach Greg McDermott:
Still, there are enough variables with hiring Hoiberg — namely, whether Chicago would release him from his contract — that this is far from a done deal. Right now, it’s only something for Ohio State and Bulls fans to monitor closely.
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