Struggling Bulls fire coach Hoiberg; Boyden takes over

The skidding Chicago Bulls fired coach Fred Hoiberg on Monday and promoted associate head coach Jim Boylen in hopes of lifting the team from the bottom of the standings.

The Bulls have been hit hard by injuries, but at 5-19 only two teams have worse records.

“Decisions like this one are never easy to make, however I felt this was the right choice for our organization at this time,” said Jim Paxson, the team’s executive vice-president of basketball operations. “After a thorough evaluation, I elected to make this move with the overall development of our team in mind. As a team, I believe it is imperative that we make unfaltering strides in the right direction and build the right habits to help put our players in the best position to evolve not only now, but into the future.”

The Bulls have been riddled by injuries all year. Denzel Valentine (ankle), Kris Dunn (knee) and Bobby Portis (knee) have missed significant time and forward Lauri Markkanen didn’t make his season debut until this past weekend because of an elbow injury.

The 7-foot Markkanen is perhaps the centerpiece of Chicago’s rebuilding plan, but Hoiberg won’t be around to see it through. He finishes his tenure in Chicago, where he played for four seasons and had a long history with general manager Gar Forman, with a record of 115-155 (.426) and a single playoff appearance, when the Bulls were ousted in the first round by Boston in 2017.