The Bulls are deep in their search for a head coach to replace Billy Donovan, and a surprising name has joined the list of potential candidates.
According to NBA insider Marc Stein, Jerry Stackhouse has emerged as a candidate for the job. The 51-year-old has worked under Steve Kerr as an assistant with the Warriors for the past two seasons. He won't return next season. His time with Golden State followed a disappointing five-year stint as the head coach at Vanderbilt.
During his time leading the Commodores, Stackhouse guided the team to a 70–92 (.432) record and a 28–60 (.318) mark in the SEC. Vanderbilt failed to reach the NCAA tournament during his tenure, but did finish tied for fourth in the SEC during the 2022–23 season. The Commodores reached the NIT quarterfinals in 2022 and ‘23 but went 9–23 in 2023–24, and Stackhouse was fired.
Former Kerr assistants Alvin Gentry, Luke Walton and Willie Green are all former NBA head coaches, while former assistants Mike Brown and Kenny Atkinson are currently facing off in the Eastern Conference finals.
Stackhouse is a bit of an outside-the-box name for the Bulls job. He was an assistant with the Raptors during the 2015–16 campaign before becoming the head coach of Raptors 905 G League team from 2016 to ’18. He moved on to be an assistant coach for the Grizzlies from 2018–19 before being hired at Vanderbilt.
His work with Golden State over the past two seasons is likely attractive to other franchises, but he was not slated to return next season.
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The Bulls parted ways with Donovan after going 31–51 this season and missing the playoffs for the fourth straight campaign. Donovan was with the franchise for six seasons and only reached the postseason once. That came in 2022 after the team went 46–36 and was eliminated in five games by the Bucks in the opening round.
Chicago is in position for a pretty big reset after landing the No. 4 pick in the 2026 NBA draft. The Bulls also own the 15th pick and are expected to have nearly $60 million in cap space. A new head coach should have plenty to work with.
Jerry Stackhouse’s NBA career
After he was a consensus first-team All-American at North Carolina as a sophomore, Stackhouse jumped into the 1995 NBA draft, and the 76ers made him the No. 3 pick. He had a solid debut and made the All-Rookie first team, but midway through the 1997–98 season, Philadelphia sent him to the Pistons along with Eric Montross in exchange for Theo Ratliff, Aaron McKie and future considerations.
In his second full season with Detroit, Stackhouse earned his first All-Star nod, and followed that up in 2001 with his second selection. Before the 2002–03 season, he was dealt to the Wizards in a six-player trade that sent Richard Hamilton to the Pistons. He spent two seasons in Washington before moving to the Mavericks, where he spent five seasons.
In all, Stackhouse played 18 seasons in the NBA, averaging 16.9 points, 3.2 rebounds and 3.3 assists per game. He retired following the 2012–13 season with the Nets, and began his coaching career as an assistant with the Raptors during the 2015–16 season.
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