8:36pm: Hoiberg will receive a five-year contract worth nearly $25MM, according to Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo Sports (Twitter link). That affirms what Frank Isola of the New York Daily News reported on Saturday.
8:10pm: The Bulls will announce Hoiberg as their head coach at a press conference on Tuesday, K.C. Johnson of the Chicago Tribune tweets.
5:21pm: Hoiberg has already told several of his players and members of his staff that he is leaving Iowa State for the Bulls, a source tells Jeff Goodman of ESPN.com (Twitter link).
4:31pm: Hoiberg boarded a Chicago-bound plane at the Ames airport, telling media that he was off to finalize things without mentioning the Bulls specifically, as Bobby La Gesse of The Ames Tribune relays (Twitter link; hat tip to Vincent Goodwill of CSNChicago.com).
MONDAY, 9:41am: Hoiberg will be in Chicago today to finalize his deal, a source tells Gary Parrish of CBSSports.com. The Bulls would like to announce the hiring today and hold a press conference Tuesday, Parrish also hears.
SATURDAY, 8:22pm: A deal between Hoiberg and the Bulls is already in place, reports Frank Isola of The New York Daily News. The contract is believed to be somewhere around $25MM over five years, and Hoiberg, who recently underwent his second heart surgery, is waiting for medical clearance before signing it.
SATURDAY, 8:08pm: Hoiberg will be introduced as the Bulls’ new coach next week, according to Randy Peterson of The Des Moines Register. He cites three unidentified sources who say the hiring will probably be announced Tuesday, but could be pushed back until Wednesday.
SATURDAY, 10:38am: There are varying reports on when a formal announcement will be made, but Hoiberg is expected to officially accept the Bulls coaching position prior to the NBA Finals beginning on Thursday, K.C. Johnson of The Chicago Tribune writes. There is the possibility that Hoiberg won’t be introduced as coach for a few weeks, so he can tend to “family schooling considerations,” Johnson adds. There is also speculation that the two sides already have a verbal agreement in place, but still need to iron out the exact contract details, the Tribune scribe notes.
FRIDAY, 10:00pm: The Bulls are “quietly confident” that Iowa State coach Fred Hoiberg will accept an offer to become the team’s new head coach, Nick Friedell of ESPNChicago.com writes. It was relayed earlier by Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports that the Bulls and Hoiberg had reached an understanding and that he would accept an offer from Chicago, prompting the team to fire former coach Tom Thibodeau.
There have been some doubts about whether Hoiberg, coming off heart surgery last month, would head to the Bulls this year. But several sources close to Hoiberg expressed confidence that he’s ready for the challenge of the NBA, and there was no way Hoiberg would turn down the opportunity to coach in Chicago, Friedell notes. As for the Bulls, the franchise’s interest in Hoiberg isn’t a recent development, since according to league sources who spoke to Adam Zagoria of SNY.tv, the team had already spoken with Hoiberg about his potential interest in coming to Chicago earlier this season.
Hoiberg certainly seems like he’s ready to leave Iowa State for the NBA. He was one of the candidates interviewed by Magic GM Rob Hennigan for the team’s coaching vacancy, which has now been filled by Scott Skiles, Josh Robbins of The Orlando Sentinel reports. The timetable on exactly when Hoiberg could formally sign a contract is still being determined, Friedell notes. The Bulls are giving extra consideration to the time frame because of Hoiberg’s recent heart surgery, team sources told Friedell.