The Bulls are casting in a wide net in their search for a new head coach, reportedly talking to at least a dozen names about the position. One of those candidates is no longer available after Spurs top assistant Sean Sweeney was hired to be the Magic‘s new top coach.

League sources tell Jake Fischer and Marc Stein Line (Substack link) that Sweeney ranked highly on Chicago’s initial list of candidates, and Brett Siegel of ClutchPoints has heard similarly (Twitter link).

Chicago is expected to have a list of finalists for the job by “early next week at the latest,” according to Fischer and Stein, who report that current assistant coach Wes Unseld Jr. is expected to be part of that group.

Unseld, 50, has been the Bulls’ top assistant for the past two seasons under Billy Donovan, who decided to part ways with the organization about a week after the 2025/26 season ended. Unseld was previously the Wizards’ head coach for two-and-a-half seasons and was an assistant for 16 years before that.

In addition to Unseld, Siegel states that Chris Quinn (Heat) and Micah Nori (Timberwolves) are still candidates for Chicago’s head coaching job. Fischer and Stein also mentioned Nori — a finalist in Portland’s search — in connection to the Bulls’ opening.

The Bulls’ search is being led by new head of basketball operations Bryson Graham, but former top executive John Paxson, who is now a senior advisor, has also been part of the interview process, per Fischer and Stein.