Chicago Bulls coach Billy Donovan
resigns after 6 seasons
[April 22, 2026]
By ANDREW SELIGMAN
CHICAGO (AP) — Chicago Bulls coach Billy Donovan has resigned after
six seasons, opting to step aside rather than work with a new front
office, the team announced Tuesday.
President and CEO Michael Reinsdorf made it clear after firing
executive vice president of basketball operations Arturas Karnisovas
and general manager Marc Eversley near the end of the season that he
wanted Donovan to remain on the job. He said anyone who wanted to
bring in a new coach was “probably not the right candidate for us.”
Now, it looks like whoever the Bulls hire to run their organization
will get that opportunity.
“While we clearly wanted Billy to return as our head coach, we had
open dialogue about the importance of respecting the process of
bringing in new basketball operations leadership," Reinsdorf said in
a news release. “Together, we mutually agreed that giving that
person the freedom to shape the organization was the best approach
for everyone involved.”
The 60-year-old Donovan consistently has said he still has a passion
for coaching. The decision to leave the Bulls was made “after a
series of thoughtful and extensive discussions with ownership
regarding the future of the organization,” Donovan said in the team
release announcing the move.
“I believe it is in the best interest of the Bulls, to allow the new
leader to build out the staff as they see fit,” he said.
Donovan was arguably the top candidate on the market when the Bulls
hired him in September 2020, a few months after Karnisovas and
Eversley got their jobs.
Chicago’s lone playoff appearance since all three were hired came
during the 2021-22 season, when it finished sixth in the Eastern
Conference at 46-36 and got knocked out by Milwaukee in the first
round. The Bulls lost in the play-in tournament the next three
years.
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Chicago Bulls' Collin Sexton talks with Chicago Bulls head coach
Billy Donovan during a time out in an NBA basketball game against
the Dallas Mavericks Sunday, April 12, 2026, in Dallas. (AP
Photo/Albert Pena)
Donovan got a contract extension last offseason. Reinsdorf said
after firing Karnisovas and Eversley that the problem was the roster
construction — not the coach.
Bulls owner Jerry Reinsdorf, Michael's father, praised Donovan for
the “class and genuine care” that he brought to the organization.
“We wanted Billy to continue as our head coach — that was never in
question,” Jerry Reinsdorf said. “But through honest conversations,
we all agreed that giving our new head of basketball operations the
right to build out his staff was the most important thing for the
future of this franchise. That is the kind of person Billy is — he
put the Bulls first.”
Karnisovas’ inability to land a franchise cornerstone player and
refusal to give the Bulls a better shot at the No. 1 pick by
rebuilding were glaring. He finally changed course before this
year’s trade deadline, dealing Nikola Vucevic to Boston, Kevin
Huerter to Detroit, Coby White to Charlotte and Chicago product Ayo
Dosunmu to Minnesota. The Bulls loaded up on second-round draft
picks and did not get any first-rounders in return.
One of the players Chicago got in return was Jaden Ivey from
Detroit. Chicago waived him following anti-LGBTQ+ comments about
religion he made in videos posted on his Instagram account.
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