Three Truths About the Doug Collins Hiring

On Tuesday, former Chicago Bulls head coach Doug Collins returned to the team as a "senior adviser" which left a lot of people confused.

It is a fair reaction, given the ambiguity offered by his title. What is Collins here to do? What is he not here to do? Where within the organisation will he be working? Why was he hired at all?

Let’s strip back the vagueness behind the role and work out why the former player, coach, and analyst is back with Chicago after almost 30 years.

Collins reports to John Paxson, who is unmistakably the head of the basketball department.

The Bulls’ owner Michael Reinsdorf referred to Collins as a “resource” for these two, as well as head coach Fred Hoiberg.

"Bringing Doug in is about improving the organization," Reinsdorf said.

"We looked around the league and noticed that several organisations have brought on senior people in a consultant-type role.

“These are people like Rod Thorn, Wayne Embry, and Jerry West, who have decades of experience. We like the idea of having an outside perspective, and Doug has so many years of experience and is a brilliant basketball mind.”

Collins is the latest of a new fashion.

As Reinsdorf pointed out at Collins’ introductory press conference, this is not unprecedented among the NBA.

Thorn, Embry and West represent highly successful people in similar roles to Collins’ – “neutral” third parties who act as a sounding board for the basketball department to bounce balls off.

This idea is far from a fad. Embry has been with the Toronto Raptors for almost 15 years, and West’s success in helping build the Golden State Warriors’ latest two championships is renowned throughout the League.

Whether or not Collins actually represents that neutral voice is another point entirely.

Back in 2008, Reinsdorf refused to hire Collins, as he wisely did not want their friendship to get in the way of the organisation.

“I love Doug Collins. It's not a great thing for friends to jeopardise a relationship for business, and relationships with coaches always end at some point,” Reinsdorf said at the time.

Even Collins himself admitted his deep trust in Paxson and Forman, and his willingness to repay the Reinsdorf family’s faith in him when they gave him his first coaching job in 1986.

Fred Hoiberg is not getting fired – yet.

The foreshadowing of the Bulls re-hiring one of the most revered coaches in their history was lost on no one. Current coach Fred Hoiberg was skating on thin ice before his hire, and everyone assumed the ice just cracked.

However, to suggest Collins has been brought in to replace Hoiberg is silly. Chicago has mad it clear no one is losing their job. Yet.

"He doesn't want to coach again and we don't want him to coach. He doesn't want to be the GM and we don't want him to be the GM. This is the perfect role for him and for us,” Reinsdorf said.

The offseason provides proverbial shade for a team under the pump, akin to a palm tree in the desert. Right now, Paxson, Hoiberg, and Forman are all bathing in said shade, but once the season begins, everything changes.

Is this a hedging of bets from the Bulls in regards to their coaching situation?

Hoiberg has brought about no success whatsoever, and with the organisation beginning a rebuild, Collins’ experience would arguably make him a better mentor to bridge the gap.

If the team starts the season poorly, Collins may be back in the coach’s seat by the end of the year. Watch this space.