Doug Collins to Be Named Bulls Head Coach

It's funny what a top pick in the draft will do. Or something. Word from the Chicago Tribune is that Doug Collins will soon be announced as the Bulls' new head coach:

Collins coached the Bulls from 1986-89 and, as recently as two weeks ago, talked about not wanting to leave his TNT broadcasting job and the family life it afforded him.

But Collins' extremely close relationship with Paxson, friendship with team Chairman Jerry Reinsdorf (who fired Collins) and the Bulls winning the draft lottery have changed his mind, sources said.

I mean, I guess Collins is a good coach. And if the Bulls brass has spent the last few weeks dumping on the very notion of having once lusted after D'Antoni, this certainly exorcises that shame once and for all. He's on the same page as all those old dudes running the team, likes to yell, and has a hard nose. Collins may not drive people up the wall like Skiles did (yeah, I know, the press made all that up, Tyson Chandler loved him, blah blah), but he's all about instilling a traditional culture of accountability and sound governance.

Collins's last gig was with the Jordan-ized Wizards, where he took a back seat to MJ's so-so return. He was asked to develop some young talent, like Kwame and Rip Hamilton, but whatever happened with those guys, it was arguably Jordan's doing, not Doug's. I guess this just makes it that much more likely that, whomever the Bulls take, he'll be a piece in preserving the franchise's identity. Not a clean break and a new day.

On the bright side, at least now Paxson has someone else to absorb those "Rose or Beasley" questions he hates so much. If you're looking for any hint in this hiring, I'd say it goes toward Rose. Beasley seems too confusing, as a player and as a person, for Collins to deal with.

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