Head Coach Search - Botts has a list and he's checking it twice

[TehDoak]

Let's be realistic on Lindy

He should have been fired 2-3 times in Buffalo before he actually got fired. He stayed on so long due to the ownership instability. Should have been fired in 03, again in 09, and then finally got fired in 2012.

I've got some great memories of Ruff.....but there's a reason he's not a HC now. Why wasn't he a candidate for NYR after Vigneault got fired? Why hasn't he been linked to any other coaching vacancies?

 

[1point21Gigawatts]

Let's be realistic on Lindy

He should have been fired 2-3 times in Buffalo before he actually got fired. He stayed on so long due to the ownership instability. Should have been fired in 03, again in 09, and then finally got fired in 2012.

I've got some great memories of Ruff.....but there's a reason he's not a HC now. Why wasn't he a candidate for NYR after Vigneault got fired? Why hasn't he been linked to any other coaching vacancies?

I made a similar argument and it wasn't received well. I think a lot of us have the nostalgia beer goggles on.

 

[Tsyolin]

Say the Amerks win the Calder Cup, or even just make the finals, would you feel differently about promoting Taylor?

 

[Buffaloed]

I heard that Sheldon Keefe wants to coach the Sabres because it's close to his home in Brampton.

 

[Revelate]

Is there really a huge discrepancy between AV or TMs resume and Lindy’s?

 

[Tsyolin]

With our luck, we'd announce Taylor is our next HC the day before Tampa let's Cooper go

If Taylor does become our next HC, then i really do hope he succeeds. It's just that...damn...that is another risky move.

At this point is there any move that isn't risky? I feel like Q was the only safe hire, with TM being next behind that but by a lot.

 

[sufferer]

I made a similar argument and it wasn't received well. I think a lot of us have the nostalgia beer goggles on.

Nostalgia goggles, indeed. Conflating any success this franchise has had in recent memory as purely Ruff's doing in hopes that it can be replicated now is a bit ridiculous. We're not getting a prime Ryan Miller, Brian Campbell and Danny Briere to go along with him. He'll just be the next dinosaur sending Sobotka over the boards for 15 minutes a night.

 

[DatGuy]

I wonder if GMJB is waiting for someone to get firer after a failed post season.

Realistically who would be let go because of a failed payoff performance?

 

[5 Minute Major]

Nostalgia goggles, indeed. Conflating any success this franchise has had in recent memory as purely Ruff's doing in hopes that it can be replicated now is a bit ridiculous. We're not getting a prime Ryan Miller, Brian Campbell and Danny Briere to go along with him. He'll just be the next dinosaur sending Sobotka over the boards for 15 minutes a night.

Right, because no successful coaches have good players on their roster, do they?

 

[TehDoak]

I wonder if GMJB is waiting for someone to get firer after a failed post season.

Realistically who would be let go because of a failed payoff performance?

Typically coaches who get fired after a playoff performance are teams that chronically underachieve in the playoffs. Maybe DeBoer if San Jose loses to Vegas? After that, most teams either have a newish coach or making the playoffs was their entire goal for the season.

 

[truthbluth]

Is there really a huge discrepancy between AV or TMs resume and Lindy’s?

There isn’t. Except that Lindy did a lot of what he did with budget rosters.

 

[sufferer]

Right, because no successful coaches have good players on their roster, do they?

That was more in reference to the notion that Sabres should hire Ruff because we haven't sniffed the playoffs since he was last behind the bench. He alone won't be enough to elevate the team in its current form to that level.

 

[TehDoak]

There isn’t. Except that Lindy did a lot of what he did with budget rosters.

The Hasek era rosters were budget rosters, sure.

Note: HASEK era. Let's not mince words here. Lindy's early success was because of Hasek. Take Hasek off those teams and even put in a very good goalie of that era like Joseph, those aren't playoff teams.

Once Hasek was gone, those budget rosters were bad teams. Even with Biron, who was a perfectly capable goalie.

The 05-06/06-07 era were very talented and ended up having cap issues in 06-07. The 09/10 and 10/11 were bubble playoff teams that got strong play from Miller which pushed them over the edge.

 

[flashsabre]

Lindy then Taylor?

I like the idea of Lane Lambert. Trotz's right hand man and Xs and Os guy for years. They have cleaned the Isles up in a hurry.

 

[1point21Gigawatts]

At this point is there any move that isn't risky? I feel like Q was the only safe hire, with TM being next behind that but by a lot.

True. I am not necessarily against a Taylor hire, it just seems a little premature.

 

[Buffaloed]

I think we can safely dismiss the claims that everybody loves Lindy and he would be welcomed back.

 

[Buffalo Norsemen]

The Pegula's do not like being embarrassed by their employees how embarrassing is this coaching search starting to look?

 

[Chainshot]

Say the Amerks win the Calder Cup, or even just make the finals, would you feel differently about promoting Taylor?

It would improve my opinion of him, yes. To the point that it makes him the favorite though, no.

 

[OkimLom]

Say the Amerks win the Calder Cup, or even just make the finals, would you feel differently about promoting Taylor?

Nope. I don't want to promote Taylor yet.

We have something going right in the organization. I'm okay leaving it be for now. I fear, since many posters and people are worried about a Rochester, and the development down there is going pretty well, that if we were to disrupt Rochester right now, I fear, without having an idea of how the assistants are down there, that we could take step backwards in developing guys. We don't have as much sure knowledge if we have to put a different coach in place. I'm more prepared to stick with the more successful sure knowledge of Taylor being a good developer of talent in Rochester.

If it's so crucial that our pipeline feeds these players to the main roster, keep what is working down there. I'm not ready to disrupt that just yet.

 

[Buffaloed]

The Pegula's do not like being embarrassed by their employees how embarrassing is as coaching search starting to look?

They've been embarrassed by their employees regularly since they purchased the Sabres 8 years ago. They should have adapted by now.

 

[Zman5778]

The Pegula's do not like being embarrassed by their employees how embarrassing is as coaching search starting to look?

We honestly don't know how our search is going. We've heard publicly of ONE candidate -- McLellan. Beyond that, we have no knowledge of who Botts has interviewed (if anyone). I think a lot of the fan frustration stems from that -- we, as fans, simply don't know what's going on with the search.

 

[Doohickie]

Lindy then Taylor?

Lindy then Grönborg. Hire Lindy as HC for a limited term, with Grönborg as Associate Head Coach. Once he gets used to the NHL, Lindy moves upstairs to Head of Hockey Ops or whatever and Grönborg rides the Swedes to glory.

This works if:
1. Lindy wants to retire from the NHL as a Sabre.
2. He's not interested in a long term coaching position.
3. Lindy gets along with Grönborg.

Why would Lindy be interested?
1. A chance to coach Dahlin & Eichel.
2. A chance to groom a promising coach for an NHL HC position.
3. Short term shot at glory. If he could get the Sabres back to the playoffs it would be a victory.
4. Provide Lindy a chance at shaping his legacy in Sabres history.

It doesn't work if there is no chemistry between Lindy and Grönborg, or if there is any difference in opinion in transition plan. They'd need to establish a transition date for Grönborg to assume HC duties and stick with it.

A very idealistic, almost romantic, movie scenario, but for some reason I can't let it go.

 

[Doohickie]

The Pegula's do not like being embarrassed by their employees how embarrassing is this coaching search starting to look?

The optics will be fine as long as the Sabres field a competent team next season.

 

[BuzzKillington90]

The Pegula's do not like being embarrassed by their employees how embarrassing is this coaching search starting to look?

You do know that the Sabres are not currently the only team still looking for a Coach right? Not that I think the others are infinitely better, but to say the Pegulas are embarassed by the coaching search is a bit much.

Especially when we only know of 2 candidates we were interested in: Quenneville and McLellan.

 

[Mattilaus]

The Pegula's do not like being embarrassed by their employees how embarrassing is this coaching search starting to look?

I don't understand what they have to be embarrassed about when it comes to this coaching search. If we make the playoffs nobody is going to look back and laugh at us for taking a couple extra weeks to hire a coach. If we don't make the playoffs they will be laughing at us for not making it and nobody will remember or care how long it took us to hire a coach anyway.

Since when did taking your time hiring a coach = embarrassing? If we hire the wrong guy, that will be the embarrassing part, not how long we took to hire someone.