Scott Skiles doesn't suffer from lack of confidence, doesn't do regrets and is as honest and frank with reporters as he is with his players.

That's why the upbeat attitude and lacerating analysis he offered Monday afternoon, mere hours after being fired as Bulls' coach, were not a surprise.

Even in conversations with confidants, Skiles refused to travel anything but the high road and spoke with fondness of his tenure coaching the team he cheered for as a child growing up in LaPorte, Ind.

"Hardly a day goes by that I don't demand accountability and stress results," Skiles said in a lengthy phone interview from his north suburban home. "Today was my day to be held accountable."

"The fact that it's Christmas Eve is neither here nor there," Skiles said. "The timing doesn't bother me. I'm not destitute."

Indeed, Skiles will collect a settlement on the roughly $7 million left on his contract which ran through next season.