With the Chicago Bulls firing former head coach Tom Thibodeau on May 28, speculation is that current ISU men’s basketball head coach Fred Hoiberg is the leading candidate for the job.

Chicago Tribune Bulls writer K.C. Johnson tweeted on May 28: “Bulls can say what they want about going through the process. They’re locked and loaded on hiring Hoiberg. His job to lose.”

It is speculation that Hoiberg will leave Iowa State for the Bulls, but here are five candidates who could take over in the case he does take that road.

1. The likely choice to replace Hoiberg is assistant coach T.J. Otzelberger. Otzelberger was recently hired by Iowa State on April 1, but was on Iowa State’s staff from 2006 to 2013, serving as an assistant coach and assistant head coach.

Not only does Otzelberger have history with Iowa State, he is also a solid recruiter. He was involved in the recruiting of Georges Niang, Naz Long, Chris Babb, Melvin Ejim and Matt Thomas.

2. Bryce Drew is another candidate to replace Hoiberg. Drew, who is the current head coach at Valparaiso, has accumulated a 94-42 record in his four-year span as head coach.

Not only has he amounted a good career record, he also has NBA experience like Hoiberg. Drew played six years in the NBA and two overseas.

There is also Big 12 connection with Drew. Drew is the younger brother of current Baylor head coach Scott Drew, and the son of legendary Valparaiso coach Homer Drew.

3. Another name to look out for is current Stephen F. Austin head coach Brad Underwood. Underwood links back to the Big 12 when he worked as an assistant for former Kansas State coach Frank Martin.

During his two-year span with Stephan F. Austin, Underwood amounted a 61-8 record. Not only does he have a .884 win percentage, he led Stephan F. Austin to the NCAA tournament the two years he’s coached there.

4. UC-Irvine head coach Russell Turner is another possibility for Iowa State to consider. Turner, who has been the head coach at UC-Irvine since 2010, has had three consecutive 20-plus win seasons.

Not only has he accumulated three straight successful seasons, he also helped UC-Irvine go from the CIT tournament in 2012-13 to the NCAA Tournament in 2014-15.

Turner brings six years of experience as an NBA assistant coach as well. He was an assistant with the Golden State Warriors between 2004 and 2010.

Not only does he bring NBA experience, but he coached NBA stars Tim Duncan and Josh Howard when they were in college.

5. The last name I would throw into the mix is Dayton head coach Archie Miller. Miller, who has been the Dayton’s head coach for the past four seasons, has been considered one of the best up-and-coming college basketball coaches.

He amounted a 90-47 record at Dayton and led the team to the Elite Eight and the third round of the NCAA tournament the past two seasons.

And Miller comes from a coaching family — he is the brother of Arizona head coach Sean Miller. This is the most unlikely scenario to happen because Miller signed an extension through 2022 with Dayton.

As I said above, it is only speculation that Hoiberg will leave Ames for Chicago. But if he does, any of the five coaches I mentioned, or whoever Iowa State hires to replace him will inherit a top-10, maybe top-five, team next season.