Former Jazz guard Jeff Hornacek grew up idolizing the Bulls, and now he's trying to convince General Manager John Paxson that he's the right man to coach the team, according to The Chicago Sun-Times.

Hornacek grew up in the Chicago area.

"I always felt I would coach someday," Hornacek said in a telephone interview after meeting with Paxson. "I felt like my coaches looked at me as a coach on the floor, and I tried to take that responsibility. Before I got to the NBA, I probably never thought I'd coach in the league. Before then, I thought I'd probably end up coaching a college team."

Hornacek claims that his meeting with Paxson went well.

"I've been open-minded since the D'Antoni thing went by the wayside," Paxson said last week. "I remain open-minded. I'll know when I sit down with somebody and talk philosophy if there's a connection there."