Prediction: Chicago Bulls Hire Former Grizzlies Head Coach

Steve Bradshaw specializes in covering the NFL Draft, NFL, and Fantasy Football for TWSN. Notably, Bradshaw has been able to cover the NFL Combine with media credentials for TWSN.

Outside of football, Bradshaw also has experience writing about the MLB & NBA.

This past season wasn’t a great one for the Chicago Bulls, so it’s not necessarily a shock that Billy Donovan will no longer be the team’s head coach, as he stepped down.

BREAKING: Billy Donovan is exiting as head coach of the Chicago Bulls after six seasons, sources tell ESPN. pic.twitter.com/PZQLdOcOSL

— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) April 21, 2026

Chicago went 31-51, and this is Bulls roster is clearly still in rebuilding mode.

With that being said, we’ll break down why Taylor Jenkins should be the Bulls’ next head coach.

TWSN Key Facts

• Team: Chicago Bulls

• Past head coach: Billy Donovan

• Potential replacement: Taylor Jenkins

• Last job: Memphis Grizzlies head coach

The Billy Donovan Era is Over

Looking back on the Donovan era, it’s tough to blame too much of this failure on him. The Bulls roster was simply never loaded with talent, and I’m not sure many head coaches could do that much better.

There was a clear reason for hope as Donovan had an extremely strong track record with the Oklahoma City Thunder. Despite never winning an NBA final, Donovan had a 243-157 record in Oklahoma City.

That record would plummet when he came to Chicago. With the Bulls, Donovan coached for six seasons, and he posted a 226-256 record.

After leading Chicago from a 31-41 record in his first year to a 46-36 season in year two, the hope was that he could build on that. Donovan was simply never able to, as that 46-win season was his best one with the Bulls.

Over the past three years, Donovan has never won at least 40 games. Regardless of how much work needs to be done on this roster, the main issue is that there was a clear lack of progress.

Why Taylor Jenkins Makes Sense for the Chicago Bulls

I’m not sure there’s a better head coach on the market right now than Jenkins. It’s less about whether the Bulls want to sign him and more about whether they can.

Before the Donovan news was announced, Eric Nehm on X posted this about Jenkins and the Milwaukee Bucks:

“The Milwaukee Bucks have met with Taylor Jenkins about their head coach opening, per league sources.”

The appeal for Milwaukee is Giannis Antetokounmpo, but I’m not sure he’s going to be around much longer. There have been rumors for quite some time, and after the Bucks’ rough season, it would make sense to blow everything up.

As for the Bulls, they don’t have that one star player, but there’s young talent to work with. For a new head coach stepping in, if Jenkins isn’t confident that Antetokounmpo is going to be in town for quite some time, he’ll likely favor Chicago.

Taylor Jenkins Stats

Looking at what Jenkins has done in the NBA, he’s now been a head coach for six seasons. With the Memphis Grizzlies, Jenkins had a 250-214 record. Unfortunately, one of the big knocks on his resume so far is the lack of playoff success. In the playoffs, Jenkins is well under .500 with a 9-14 record.

As for why Jenkins was fired, it didn’t seem like there was a clear reason why. Typically, you can point to a current lack of success, but the Grizzlies were 44-29 at the time.

Taylor Jenkins obviously has been at odds with Memphis management since last season. It sounds like management decided that, if he was going to be fired after this season, why not do it now and see if a slumping team could be re-energized as Ja returns from his hamstring injury.

— Skip Bayless (@RealSkipBayless) March 28, 2025

As this post from Skip Bayless suggested, it seems like the problem was outside of just wins and losses.

There are a number of different factors that played into why the Grizzlies fired Taylor Jenkins, but the Chicago Bulls should be more than willing to give him a fresh start.

Prediction: Chicago Bulls Hire Former Grizzlies Head Coach

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