Not the way I see it. If you're the coach, you're responsible for what you're teaching. If you dont have the balls to teach what you think is right and tell the head coach that, then you're responsible for what happens and not looking out for the best of the team and your goalies.
Oates wasnt teaching the goalies, Kolzig was.
If Kolzig had the guts to stand up to Oates the way that Prior did, GMGM would have had no choice but to ask why multiple goalie coaches couldnt get along with him and things may have been different.
Just my take on the situation.
in a perfect world. sure. Prior is older and was planning to retire. He had his long time protégé hired to take is place and continue his teachings. When faced with Oates telling him he was wrong and that was being directed to change his program to Oates', Prior said "shove it" and Oates told him to get lost.
Oates then put Kolzig in the same hot seat. He had the same choice. Teach Oates crap or get fired. Kolzig has a different agenda. His coaching career is just starting. As we all know he has an autistic child, who if you don't know doesn't do well with change. Meaning Kolzig had priorities were different. He wanted the job more than he wanted to be right. He wanted to outlast Oates. I am fairly sure McPhee advised him to stay and do the best he could.
Have you ever quit or forced yourself to be fired from a really good job because you had a philosophical difference with your boss? I have. Got fired. Damaged my rep for not following directions and being difficult. My career might have been a lot different if I rolled with the flow a bit more readily