Maybe I'm trying to hard to "protect" Fred's reputation, but:
- I don't think he had any interest in the Orlando and New Orleans positions. I think he interviewed for those positions to "force" the Bulls to speed up the process because he, like all of us, wanted it to be done sooner, rather than later
- Fred leaving now is better than any other time. He leaves the new coach with a loaded roster and did what he could to give the new coach as much time as possible to jump start 16-17 recruiting. If you haven't seen the video of Orr's retirement, Fred said (paraphrased) "Selfishly, I want (Johnny) back, but that wouldn't be the best thing for then long term success of the program right now". That group was losing 6 guys the next year, and had Orr left a year later, the new coach would have been totally screwed
The way this has gone down has sucked, no question, but I've never thought this was his final coaching job. The way it's played out is not his fault. The Bulls could have fired Thibs LONG ago, but decided to drag it out. Ultimately, they did what they should have done as soon as they were ousted from the playoffs (May 14th).
As to the OP? If the situation arises, yes, I would welcome him back with open arms.