Chicago Bulls fire coach Tom Thibodeau after 5 seasons

CHICAGO (AP) — The Chicago Bulls fired Tom Thibodeau today, saying a change was needed from the strong-willed coach who took his team to the playoffs in each of his five seasons.

Thibodeau went 255-139 with the Bulls, good for a .647 winning percentage that ranks seventh in NBA history among coaches with at least 200 games. He led the Bulls to the top seed in the playoffs his first two seasons and was the NBA's Coach of the Year in 2011 — the same year Derrick Rose became the league's youngest MVP.

Chicago advanced to the Eastern Conference finals that season, but it's the only time the Bulls have made it past the second round under Thibodeau, whose relationship with the front office was under constant scrutiny.

"When Tom was hired in 2010, he was right for our team and system at that time, and over the last five years we have had some success with Tom as our head coach," general manager Gar Forman said. "But as we looked ahead and evaluated how we as a team and an organization could continue to grow and improve, we believed a change in approach was needed."

Bulls Chairman Jerry Reinsdorf was blunt: "Teams that consistently perform at the highest levels are able to come together and be unified across the organization-staff, players, coaches, management and ownership," he said. "When everyone is on the same page, trust develops and teams can grow and succeed together. Unfortunately, there has been a departure from this culture."