John Cooper: Great Coach, Bad Leader

[BenG]

After watching the Lightning collapse, I couldn't help but think that a lot of this has to do with Cooper's inability to passionately motivate his players. He's a great coach, but when it comes to inspiring his players, it's a different story...

The post-season is all about doing whatever it takes and teams needs a great leader. As much as I hate to admit it, Therrien was actually great at getting the Habs going as a team in the playoffs and pushing them.

So, who are some coaches that are great leaders?

Torts?
Gallant?

Click to read more...

 

[Juicy Pop]

I don't think that you can blame the coach for his players being mentally fragile. What is he supposed to do, post motivational posters around the locker-room espousing just how awesome everyone is?

 

[NiL8r87]

Lol, teams eventually get sick of Torts so how great of a leader could he be?

Your players should be the ones motivating other players.

 

[Juicy Pop]

Lol, teams eventually get sick of Torts so how great of a leader could he be?

Your players should be the ones motivating other players.

Torts is a binary coach though. Either the players love him and buy in 100% or they resent him. That's the underlying fault of a "player's coach."

 

[BenG]

While I do agree that these types of coaches generally overstay their welcome, I do think their effect plays a major role. It's their ability to indoctrinate a 'do whatever it takes', war-like mentality.

Granted, this is way too mentally taxing to do during the regular season where it gets old quickly.

 

[Lafleurs Guy]

Upsets happen. It happened with Detroit for years until they finally put things together. Tampa shouldn't do anything rash here. Suck it up, come back next year. Maybe make some tweaks to the lineup... they're still stacked and they'll have more than one bite at the apple. And next time with any luck their Norris winning blueliner will be healthy enough to play the entire series.

 

[SomeDude]

 

[bossram]

After watching the Lightning collapse, I couldn't help but think that a lot of this has to do with Cooper's inability to passionately motivate his players. He's a great coach, but when it comes to inspiring his players, it's a different story...

The post-season is all about doing whatever it takes and teams needs a great leader. As much as I hate to admit it, Therrien was actually great at getting the Habs going as a team in the playoffs and pushing them.

So, who are some coaches that are great leaders?

Torts?
Gallant?

Was Cooper a great leader when past Lightning teams went to the ECF? Was he a great leader winning at every level up until the NHL? Or was he a bad leader at every other moment and just fluked his way to success?

Yes, the Lightning choked. But he's still a great coach. If the Lightning were to toss him, he'd be unemployed for all of five minutes.

 

[NotProkofievian]

Lol, teams eventually get sick of Torts so how great of a leader could he be?

Your players should be the ones motivating other players.

This always happens with commanding leaders. People will only tolerate it for so long. That doesn't mean that there aren't situations in which they are more effective than other kinds of leaders.

Literally no one could have done any worse than Coop did that series. It's an incoherent concept: they were embarrassed as thoroughly as possible. Maybe Torts would have done better. He certainly managed to get a lot out of that Columbus lineup.

 

[dingbathero]

This thread title is all kinds of awful.

 

[God King Fudge]

I think Cooper gets by on the sheer talent that Yzerman and Murray have blessed this organization with. When coaching actually matters, he can't get the job done.

It is time for Tampa to move on.

It's not all on Cooper, but he needs to go for this team to take the next step. Period.

 

[serp]

I don't think the coach and and should be the leader and motivator of a team at least not primarily. That needs to come from the players and the supposed leadership group. While i think Cooper and the Lightning coaching staff did a very poor job adjusting to what the Jackets did the players themselves didn't exactly put up a huge fight . This failure is imho to a bigger degree on the leadership group than it is on the coach . Like i said the coaching staff did a poor job and even so the players can't just go down like this. At least go down swinging and not in a wimper.

 

[holy]

Third one from the left looks exactly like Jon Cooper! Close this thread down, it's based on obvious falsehoods.

 

[Mickey Marner]

He's been there too long, team needs a new voice. Can't be buddies with the coach and expect to win.

 

[Help]

The "good leader" moniker is only ever applied retroactively, after you've already won.

It's one of the stupider things in hockey discourse. You're not in the room. f*** off

 

[SirClintonPortis]

Tampa's "ELITE" penalty kill being picked apart by a small adjustment and Tampa's Dmen not understanding how to execute a breakout are a sign of bad coaching.

The inability to stop committing turnovers against the CBJ's forecheck basically did Tampa in from Games 2-4. Hell, they were committing them in THE FIRST PERIOD of game 1 and Cooper told Pierre Mcguire that they just needed to move the puck faster...well Tampa's D never did start moving the puck faster or better for the entire series. f***, Artemi Panarin won a 1-on-2 battle that eventually led to a goal in game 4, and Panarin is no heavyweight.

 

[CherryToke]

What do you expect from a guy that fist bumps players for dishing out head shots?

 

[Frank Drebin]

I don't think that you can blame the coach for his players being mentally fragile. What is he supposed to do, post motivational posters around the locker-room espousing just how awesome everyone is?

Something to that effect, yes. It's the leadership teams responsibility to get the team in the right frame of mind for playoffs.

 

[Iceman]

I guess I'll stick to my opinion.

ADF: (1) Montreal Canadiens vs. (2) Tampa Bay Lightning | Part III (Series 3-2 TB) (2015)
GDT: - 5/9/15 - 7:00PM EDT - #2 Tampa Bay @ #1 Montréal [ECSF GAME 5] (2015)
SCF Game 6: Tampa Bay Lightning @ Chicago Blackhawks, MON 6/15, 7PM CDT NBC, CBC, TVA (2015)
GDT: - 10/24/15 - 8:30PM EDT - Tampa Bay @ Chicago (2015)
Best 3-on-3 OT Units (2015)
Jon Cooper is fantastic! (2015)
GDT: - 12/17/16 - 10:00PM EDT - Tampa Bay @ Edmonton (2016)
GDT: - 10/7/17 - 7:00PM EDT - Tampa Bay @ Florida (2017)
Confirmed with Link: - Lightning hire Derek Lalonde as Assistant Coach (2018)
ECF Game 1: Washington Capitals @ Tampa Bay Lightning | 8 PM ET | CBC, SN, TVAS, NBCSN (2018)

 

[DFC]

I don't think Coop is much of a tactician. He's never been good at making adjustments. I think he's relied on the talent of his players and goalie(s) a lot, but when a team commits to shutting us down, they tend to be able to do it. And nothing on our/TB's end changes when that happens. They just keep trying the same things with the same results. I don't see how that's not a coaching problem.

 

[DFC]

Upsets happen. It happened with Detroit for years until they finally put things together. Tampa shouldn't do anything rash here. Suck it up, come back next year. Maybe make some tweaks to the lineup... they're still stacked and they'll have more than one bite at the apple. And next time with any luck their Norris winning blueliner will be healthy enough to play the entire series.

While that's true, there was a big difference with the way it happened in Detroit. There are similarities: Detroit steamrolled to the finals in 1995 and realized, vs. the Devils, a good strategy buries good talent every day of the week. This is what happens to TB in the playoffs a lot (not every time, but a lot, and definitely our last two series). The difference is Scotty Bowman made adjustments; Jon Cooper has yet to show he can adjust.

 

[Field of Dreams]

What year is it? It feels just like weeks ago I was being told Cooper is the best coach in the NHL

 

[Gardner McKay]

What year is it? It feels just like weeks ago I was being told Cooper is the best coach in the NHL

Yes. Which is why I am closing this thread.

 

[Lafleurs Guy]

While that's true, there was a big difference with the way it happened in Detroit. There are similarities: Detroit steamrolled to the finals in 1995 and realized, vs. the Devils, a good strategy buries good talent every day of the week. This is what happens to TB in the playoffs a lot (not every time, but a lot, and definitely our last two series). The difference is Scotty Bowman made adjustments; Jon Cooper has yet to show he can adjust.

Of course he has yet to show it... if he had then there wouldn't be a thread on it. I'm just saying that he deserves the chance to try.

If I'm Tampa, I brush this off and keep things as they are. Maybe some tweaks but they are stacked top to bottom. I don't see a compelling reason to do anything rash right now. If they're swept in series one again next year then this can be revisited. But I don't think this warrants panic.