The rift between the Chicago Bulls' management and coach Tom Thibodeau has been one of the league's worst kept secrets, and recently, multiple reports have suggested that the parting of one of the NBA's best coaches and teams at the end of the season is now inevitable.

Grantland's Zach Lowe has said that the issue of minutes given to the Bulls' players has long been a wedge between Thibodeau and the front office. The firing of his assistant, who Lowe calls a "genius" just amplified the already tense situation. The unsigned contract extension proves as much.

"People close to Thibodeau are convinced the Bulls will fire him after this season, though the front office has always played down the tiff in terse public statements," Lowe wrote.

Thibodeau, for his part, continues to be unrelenting in his pursuit of guiding the finally complete Bulls lineup to a championship.

"Ahhhh, that's all noise. I want them to be mentally tough. In this league, it's so easy to get sidetracked. There's so much noise. Trades. Free agency. This. That. Whatever. To me, none of that is important. All that matters is what we think," Thibodeau said. "Are we doing the right things everyday? Are we putting the proper work in? Are we playing the right way? Practicing the right way? That's how you play well in this league. All that other stuff is just noise, it doesn't mean anything."

But as much as Thibodeau wants to call the murmurs "noise," there have been several accounts of the cold, and sometimes strange, relationship between the coach and Bulls general manager Gar Forman, as noted by an article by Yahoo Sports' Adrian Wojnarowski.

Rumors have surfaced that Iowa State head coach Fred Hoiberg, who played for the Bulls from 1999-2003 is the front office's top choice for Thibodeau's replacement.

The Bulls are tied with the Cleveland Cavaliers 1-1 in their second round matchup. The series shifts to Chicago on Friday for Game 3.