Billy Donovan Steps Down as Bulls Coach

Billy Donovan has stepped down as coach of the Chicago Bulls after six seasons, leaving the team without a head coach days into a front-office reset. (nba.com) The Bulls announced Donovan’s decision on Tuesday, April 21, and said the 60-year-old chose to “step away” after discussions with ownership about the franchise’s future. (nba.com) Donovan said he wanted “the search process to unfold” and said a new leader should be able to build a coaching staff without inheriting him from the previous regime. (nba.com) Chicago had wanted Donovan back, but he held an option on next season and elected to leave after what ESPN reported were extensive meetings with ownership over the past week. (espn.com) The move comes two weeks after the Bulls fired executive vice president Artūras Karnišovas and general manager Marc Eversley, ending a six-year front-office run that produced one playoff appearance. (nba.com) Chicago finished the 2025-26 season at 31-51, fourth in the Central Division and 12th in the Eastern Conference, missing the playoffs for a fourth straight year. (espn.com) Donovan went 226-256 with the Bulls and reached the postseason once, in 2022, before three straight play-in exits and then this year’s miss. (upi.com) His departure closes the last major tie to the Bulls’ 2020 overhaul, and it leaves ownership searching for both a new basketball chief and a new coach at the same time. (espn.com)