Philadelphia 76ers: 6 head coach candidates to keep an eye on
Sixers head coaching candidates: Tom Thibodeau
Out of all the potential coaching candidates on this list, Tom Thibodeau is the most experienced and second most accomplished name out there. He was an assistant for 20 seasons before finally getting a head coach job.
It should be noted that he spent two seasons as an assistant for the Philadelphia 76ers from 1994-96. That was back when John Lucas was coaching the Sixers. His other stops as an assistant included: Minnesota Timberwolves, Spurs, Knicks, Houston Rockets, and Boston Celtics (won a title).
He was hired as a Bulls head coach and lead them to the postseason each of the five seasons he was the coach. After he had parted ways with the Bulls, he took over the Timberwolves as head coach and executive. He ended a 13-season playoff drought but was let go in his third season after just one playoff appearance.
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Thibodeau is a great defensive coach, but the biggest knock against him is that he overplays his starters and doesn’t trust his bench. His teams usually have had injury problems and don’t have anything left in the tank by the time playoffs begin. While having him coach run a defense spread headed by Joel Embiid and Ben Simmons would be interesting, he may overwork them to the point they won’t have super long careers.
Thibodeau is also a candidate for the Knicks job, so even if he didn’t get the job in New York, he would have to promise to overwork the 76ers duo of stars to be considered a legit candidate for a potential head coaching job in Philly.