(Agencies)
Updated: 2007-12-28 11:44

CHICAGO - The slumping Chicago Bulls on Thursday named assistant coach Jim Boylan to replace the fired Scott Skiles to lead the team for the remainder of the season.

Chicago Bulls interim Head Coach Jim Boylan, left, talks as he watches his team practice with Luol Deng of Sudan during their practice at Sheri L. Berto Center in Deerfield, Ill., Thursday, Dec. 27, 2007. [Agencies]

Skiles was fired on Monday during his fifth season as the Bulls' coach, and the team subsequently suffered its fourth loss in five games, 94-79 to the defending NBA champion San Antonio Spurs.

The team, which was expected to contend this season after three straight playoff appearances under Skiles, has a 9-17 record and is in last place in the Eastern Conference's Central Division.

Boylan, 52, was named the team's Interim Head Coach for the remainder of the 2007-2008 season.

He has been Skiles' lead assistant since 2004, and previously served as an assistant coach on four other NBA teams including the Skiles-led Phoenix Suns in 2000-2001.

"Jim has paid his dues as an assistant coach and has his own ideas on the way he wants us to play," Bulls' executive vice president John Paxson said in a statement.

"Many top assistants never get the chance to be a head coach in the NBA and Jim has assured me he will provide the necessary energy and commitment this position requires," Paxson said.

Boylan played on Marquette University's 1977 collegiate championship team.