Billy Donovan Steps Down as Bulls Coach

Billy Donovan stepped down as Chicago Bulls head coach on April 21, ending a six-season run with the team. (nba.com) The Bulls said they wanted Donovan to stay, but ownership and the coach agreed a new head of basketball operations should be free to choose his own staff. Donovan said he made the decision after “thoughtful and extensive discussions” with ownership. (nba.com) Donovan, 60, went 226-256 in Chicago from the 2020-21 season through 2025-26. His 226 wins rank fourth in franchise history, but the Bulls reached the playoffs once in his six seasons and lost in the SoFi Play-In Tournament in each of the last three years. (nba.com, espn.com) The timing tracks with a larger reset inside the organization. The Bulls fired executive vice president of basketball operations Artūras Karnišovas and general manager Marc Eversley on April 6 after a six-year stretch that also produced one playoff berth. (espn.com) That means Chicago now has openings at the top of the front office and on the bench at the same time. Michael Reinsdorf had said after the executive firings that he wanted Donovan to remain coach, but that plan changed once both sides agreed on a clean handoff to the next basketball operations chief. (nba.com, espn.com) Donovan arrived in Chicago on Sept. 22, 2020, after five seasons coaching the Oklahoma City Thunder. The Bulls hired him to replace Jim Boylen during the same overhaul that brought in Karnišovas and Eversley. (espn.com) Before the NBA, Donovan built his reputation in college basketball. He won two national championships at Florida in 2006 and 2007, and he was elected to the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame as part of the Class of 2025. (fox32chicago.com) His exit closes the chapter that began with Chicago’s 2020 rebuild and leaves the next leadership group to shape the Bulls from scratch. Donovan thanked Bulls fans in the team statement and said his gratitude for the organization is “permanent.” (nba.com)