The idea of getting sacked on Christmas Eve is Dickensian to say the least, but the Chicago Bulls have already done it twice. It happened to Tim Floyd in 2001 and Scott Skiles in 2007. There was heavy speculation in 2009 that then coach Vinny Del Negro would be greeted with a “Merry Christmas- here’s your pink slip!” but it didn’t happen. For what it’s worth, the Oakland Raiders have also done this, canning then coach Mike White on Christmas Eve 1998.
The GarPax (GM Gar Forman and VP John Paxson) let him stick out the entire season, only to be told Hasta la vista, baby, on Cinco de Mayo Eve 2010. Which brings us to the current Bulls head coach, one squarely on the hot seat, in Jim Boylen.
Although you can’t really find a lot of wagering action on this proposition, at least not here in the United States, you can certainly take advantage of the free NBA predictions against the spread. You’ll quite often see the Chicago Bulls as underdogs, and usually by a fairly large margin too. In the preseason, the bookies, all overseas as no U.S. sports book took bets on who the first NBA coach fired will be, had the Washington Wizards’ Scott Brooks as the favorite to be dismissed first.
Jim Boylen was typically priced with odds that made him the fifth most favorable. The honor actually went to the New York Knicks’ David Fizdale, and given what a train wreck of a dumpster fire they are, it was only natural. As for the Bulls and Boylen, well, many a pundit, both local and national, has described him as the worst coach in the NBA.
The shoe fits, as he’s currently guided his team to a record that’s eight games under .500 and in 11th place in the Eastern Conference. That’s a conference so weak that even a team four games under the .500 mark, Orlando, is in playoff position right now. So does that mean he’ll get a dastardly Christmas gift this yuletide? Well, most likely not.
You see, the concepts of accountability, responsibility and most importantly, meritocracy don’t actually exist in the Chicago Bulls organization these days. As we’ve chronicled in excruciating detail before, GarPax will basically never get fired, no matter how horribly terribly awful they continue to be at their jobs. Paxson, especially so, as his 15 year reign of terror has been met with zero consequences.
The “we can just suck, but who cares because we keep selling tickets and merchandise” mantra starts at the top and trickles down, so rest assured, Boylen will awaken on Christmas Day with his gig still intact.
By the way, Merry Christmas, Season’s Greetings and Happy Holidays to The Sports Bank family of contributors, commenters, sponsors, partners and readers.
Paul M. Banks runs The Sports Bank.net, which is partnered with News Now. Banks, the author of “No, I Can’t Get You Free Tickets: Lessons Learned From a Life in the Sports Media Industry,” regularly appears on WGN CLTV and co-hosts the “Let’s Get Weird, Sports” podcast on SB Nation.
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