The Chicago Bulls ended a nearly two-month coaching search Monday, hiring Tiago Splitter as the franchise's next head coach. Splitter beat out three other finalists for the position: Micah Nori, Ryan Schmidt, and Wes Unseld Jr.
According to Yahoo Sports, the search began in April after Billy Donovan parted ways with the team. The Bulls had narrowed the field to four candidates before settling on Splitter, a former NBA player with seven years of league experience, including a championship ring with the San Antonio Spurs in 2014.
Splitter's path to the Bulls job was unconventional. He joined the Portland Trail Blazers as an assistant coach in June before stepping into an interim head coaching role after Chauncey Billups was arrested on gambling charges in October. He led Portland to its first playoff berth since the 2020-21 season. Before Portland, Splitter spent time with the Brooklyn Nets starting in 2019 as a scout and player development coach, staying through 2023. He then joined Ime Udoka's staff in Houston, where he became one of Udoka's top assistants.
That work in Houston helped earn him the head coaching job with Paris Basketball during the 2024-25 EuroLeague season, giving him full head coaching experience overseas before returning to the NBA spotlight.
The other finalists each came with their own cases. Nori, a Timberwolves assistant, is relatively young but has no head coaching experience at any level. Unseld had a prior opportunity as a head coach in Washington but struggled to find success there. The Bulls ultimately passed on promoting from within and passed on Nori's unproven track record.
Splitter's appeal appears to lie in the combination of what he brings. He has a successful coaching background across multiple leagues and countries, former playing experience in the NBA, and is considered a younger voice capable of connecting with a developing roster. The Bulls have been rebuilding, and the front office appears to have prioritized someone who could grow alongside a young group of players rather than a veteran coach with a long NBA head coaching resume.
Chicago has not been a consistent playoff contender in recent years, and the hire signals a direction for the franchise as it works to rebuild its identity in the Eastern Conference.
