DEERFIELD, Ill. -- At times on Wednesday afternoon, Tom Thibodeau looked a little overwhelmed.

It's not hard to understand why. The new Bulls head coach had never been at the center of such a media spotlight and the focal point of everyone's attention. Up to this point, the 52 year-old career assistant had always been in the shadows. Now, he is being asked to lead the Bulls back to prominence.

Only time will tell whether he will be able to do that or not, but in the meantime, here are some of the first impressions we can take away from Thibodeau's initial appearance at the Berto Center.

1. He's going to be a workaholic:Thibodeau's reputation has been cultivated throughout the league for a long time as a hard worker. No matter whom you talked to they all said basically the same thing: He'll watch tape until his eyes bleed. His comments and attitude did nothing to sway that belief.

"I'm serious about my job," Thibodeau told a small group of reporters later in the day, "I'm going to come in, I'm going to work. And when the work's done, I'll leave. I don't think I have to change that one bit. I'm not going to apologize for that."

He seemed confident that he would be able to make the transition to the head coach's chair without any problem, especially after he locks down a coaching staff, which may include longtime coaches/friends like Ron Adams and Mo Cheeks among others.

"I don't think it's going to be hard," he said. "Because I think when you hire a quality assistant, you feel comfortable with that. But I'm going to have my own style as a head coach. I know there's things I want to do, things I want to get in place, and when I'm comfortable I may back up some. I think knowing your team, what your team needs and getting your system in and getting it put in quickly, and efficiently, is very important.

Thibodeau has the right attitude, but I think the adjustment is going to be much more difficult than he thinks.

He's carved out a niche for himself as being the hardest working guy in the room. He loves the game and he loves being part of the intricate details that make teams successful. But it certainly seems as if his entire life revolves around the game. It's his passion. That was clear any time a reporter asked a basketball-specific question. His eyes seemed to light up a little more and he spoke a little more energetically about what he was thinking.

When things aren't going the way he thinks, there should be there's little doubt that he will feel like he has to fix them himself. As a head coach, you have to manage your time a little more carefully though, because of all the other responsibilities that go along with the job. There's nothing wrong with hard work, but Thibodeau must make sure he doesn't burn himself out.

2. He's going to try and push Derrick Rose to another level: Plain and simple, the Bulls wouldn't have hired Thibodeau if they thought he was "only" a great defensive mind. It was clear that Bulls GM Gar Forman and Bulls executive VP John Paxson liked what they heard regarding Thibodeau's offensive strategy. Obviously, at the forefront of the offense will be Rose -- a player Thibodeau can't wait to start tutoring.

"He's got strength, he's got quickness, he's got all the things you're looking for," Thibodeau said of his new point guard. "I think he can be very disruptive.I think a big part of your defense is also your team concepts. I think the important thing is we got to tie everybody together so that we're not leaving guys on an island. We're helping appropriately. We want to protect our basket and make it hard for the other team to get the ball into the paint."

While Thibodeau was quick to link any progression Rose may make with the team concept, it's evident that he believes he can make Rose even better.

"I think all the great players, they like that challenge," Thibodeau said. "They like to improve, and I see that with him. You have to study the game and see the areas in which he can improve and point it out to him and show him how he can improve in those areas.The big thing is going to be the team, him understanding team responsibility. I think the better we are defensively, and the better we are at rebounding the ball, the more dangerous he becomes. I know what's it's like when you're sitting on their on that other bench and he's coming at you with a head of steam. That's not a good feeling. The more we can do that, the better we'll be."

3. Tom the teacher: While there is no denying that former Bulls coach Vinny Del Negro spent countless hours with his players trying to help them, you wondered sometimes if he was able to connect with some of them, as evidenced by his blowup during the middle of last season with Tyrus Thomas. Forman went out of his way to praise Thibodeau's ability to break down individual player's games and help them get better.

"He's a teacher," Forman said. "He's a communicator. He's got strong ideas on how he wants his teams to play. He's got a base to who he is. He's obviously prepared for a long time and is a solid basketball coach. But even his vision, how to work with players how to work within an organization, how to build moving forward. In our mind, those were all real pluses."

Surely, there will be some who see that as a veiled shot at Del Negro. No matter how you look at it, there is no question the Bulls think they have upgraded from their former coach and the way in which he led the team.

"I think players want to be coached," Forman said. "I think they want to be put into a position to succeed. I think they want to know there's a game plan as far as the team's concerned and a plan as far as their development and them having success on the floor is concerned. I think when they see that they respond to it."

4. A fresh start: Since Del Negro's firing early last month, much was made about the fact that it may be tough for the Bulls to land a coach given what had transpired between Del Negro and Paxson during the season. In the end, the speculation far outweighed the reality: Most coaching candidates, Thibodeau included, didn't really care what may have happened before.

"In the heat of battle, when you have guys who have great will to win, there's going to be arguments along the way," Thibodeau said. "Obviously, you're hoping those things don't happen, but sometimes stuff like that does happen. It never really came up [in the interview process] and you move past those things. I think it's really insignificant."

Thibodeau doesn't sound like he'll be picking Del Negro's brain any time soon, either.

"For me coming in right now, it's better for me to make my own observations," he said, when asked if he would speak with Del Negro. "I'll start everything with the tape and base everything on my experience with the players."

5. The wait is over: Thibodeau has wanted to become a head coach for a long time, and it's clear when you speak to people close to him that he desperately wanted the Bulls job. He has a clear idea of what he wants to do and how he wants things to run. Bulls fans won't have to worry about a coach who has to learn on the job. The festivities at the Berto Center had the look and feel of a man who had finally landed his dream job.

"It's great because of the opportunity this represents," he said when asked what it feels like to be the man in charge. "It's the culmination of a lot of hard work that's gone into it, but I think I've been very fortunate to work for a lot of great coaches. I think the success we had in Boston and being under Doc [Rivers] has helped me a lot. I think that has given me the opportunity."

Thibodeau has the pedigree to succeed, as Rivers, Jeff Van Gundy and any number of his former bosses and players will tell you. I think he's relieved that he finally has a job of his own and he is excited about the chance to prove he can succeed in the spotlight. Whether he is able to do so right away all depends on how well he is able to adapt under the bright lights in Chicago. If Wednesday was any indication, he's off to a good start, but he's still got some work to do. The biggest adjustment isn't going on the basketball court ... isn't going to come with all of the things that float around in a head coach's world off of it.