Long time Jets/Coyotes PR guy Rich Nairn resigns

[Yotes2000]

So this man could definitely write a book.. I'm a little concerned about this being a canary in the coal mine situation.. he's stuck through ALOT with the team. I wonder if the Coyotes just wanted someone to handle the BS in the media a little more forceful and pushed him out the door? Or things behind the scenes are not going well?

Who knows.. but it'll be said to see him leave he has been through it ALL.

Good luck Rich!

Click to read more...

 

[rt]

Makes me a bit concerned. The timing and the wording. Lack of team statement.

I’ll be totally honest, I don’t care any more or less about Rich Nairn’s career than any anonymous person off the street. I hope everyone does well and is happy. Obviously I wish him the best but I have no concept of whether he did a good or bad job.

This just gets my “incoming humiliation” antenna up. The last time was Doan. Turned out to be a false alarm (or so it seems for now). Before that was the vote. And I was right on target there.

I’m just hoping there’s no embarrassing circus drama fallout hiding just around the corner on this one.

 

[Prarievarg]

I’m just hoping there’s no embarrassing circus drama fallout hiding just around the corner on this one.

That's always the worry. I wonder what it's like being a fan of a normal team.

 

[Tom Polakis]

I'll start to worry if Stan Wilson leaves the organization.

 

[The Feckless Puck]

Honestly, I'm surprised Rich stuck it out for that long. It's pretty evident that Meruelo and Armstrong are working on purging the team's culture and remaking it as theirs, so Nairn was a legacy employee no matter how well he did his job. That he wasn't let go speaks to his skill and ability, IMO.

But keep this in mind also - Nairn's been doing this job for 27 years, and speaking from personal experience, that's a long time to be in a PR job in professional sports. I spent about that long doing PR/marketing work in motorsports, and believe you me, when you get to the quarter-century mark, many people are burned out by the grind and the thanklessness of the work. Now add onto that the Damoclean Sword of being with a franchise like ours, perennially on the verge of relocation, perennially fighting to survive scandals, perennially having to do crisis communications and damage control, and Nairn's longevity looks even more miraculous by that metric.

His farewell message indicated that he's going to take a non-NHL job and I don't blame him. When I switched industries a decade-plus ago, people thought I was nuts to give up a gig in racing. But I was so done - I knew if I didn't find something new to pursue, all the love I had for the sport would have curdled into distaste, and I didn't want that to happen. Not sure if that's what Nairn's thinking, but I wouldn't be surprised if it is.

Good luck to him - he's a pro's pro, and he'll land comfortably on his feet.

 

[cobra427]

Honestly, I'm surprised Rich stuck it out for that long. It's pretty evident that Meruelo and Armstrong are working on purging the team's culture and remaking it as theirs, so Nairn was a legacy employee no matter how well he did his job. That he wasn't let go speaks to his skill and ability, IMO.

But keep this in mind also - Nairn's been doing this job for 27 years, and speaking from personal experience, that's a long time to be in a PR job in professional sports. I spent about that long doing PR/marketing work in motorsports, and believe you me, when you get to the quarter-century mark, many people are burned out by the grind and the thanklessness of the work. Now add onto that the Damoclean Sword of being with a franchise like ours, perennially on the verge of relocation, perennially fighting to survive scandals, perennially having to do crisis communications and damage control, and Nairn's longevity looks even more miraculous by that metric.

His farewell message indicated that he's going to take a non-NHL job and I don't blame him. When I switched industries a decade-plus ago, people thought I was nuts to give up a gig in racing. But I was so done - I knew if I didn't find something new to pursue, all the love I had for the sport would have curdled into distaste, and I didn't want that to happen. Not sure if that's what Nairn's thinking, but I wouldn't be surprised if it is.

Good luck to him - he's a pro's pro, and he'll land comfortably on his feet.

Great post and good description of what this entails.

 

[hbk]

Honestly, I'm surprised Rich stuck it out for that long. It's pretty evident that Meruelo and Armstrong are working on purging the team's culture and remaking it as theirs, so Nairn was a legacy employee no matter how well he did his job. That he wasn't let go speaks to his skill and ability, IMO.

But keep this in mind also - Nairn's been doing this job for 27 years, and speaking from personal experience, that's a long time to be in a PR job in professional sports. I spent about that long doing PR/marketing work in motorsports, and believe you me, when you get to the quarter-century mark, many people are burned out by the grind and the thanklessness of the work. Now add onto that the Damoclean Sword of being with a franchise like ours, perennially on the verge of relocation, perennially fighting to survive scandals, perennially having to do crisis communications and damage control, and Nairn's longevity looks even more miraculous by that metric.

His farewell message indicated that he's going to take a non-NHL job and I don't blame him. When I switched industries a decade-plus ago, people thought I was nuts to give up a gig in racing. But I was so done - I knew if I didn't find something new to pursue, all the love I had for the sport would have curdled into distaste, and I didn't want that to happen. Not sure if that's what Nairn's thinking, but I wouldn't be surprised if it is.

Good luck to him - he's a pro's pro, and he'll land comfortably on his feet.

i think the main worry most of us have is he's doing this in anticipation of the franchise relocating so he doesn't have to uproot his family/life again.

 

[TheLegend]

Rich isn’t the only one to leave in the past week.

Their CBO has gone back to his roots in pro soccer.

 

[The Feckless Puck]

i think the main worry most of us have is he's doing this in anticipation of the franchise relocating so he doesn't have to uproot his family/life again.

If it was a relocation thing, IIRC he stuck with the team when the Jets came to Phoenix, so I doubt it would be that. Personally, I think he's just done being the crisis communicator for the Mutts and wants something lower-stress and with more spare time for his family.

Rich isn’t the only one to leave in the past week.

Their CBO has gone back to his roots in pro soccer.

Yeah, but in that particular case it's a substantial promotion - he's now the CEO of Hartford Athletic - in a sport he knows a lot more about than hockey.

The Coyotes will have no problems finding new blood for either position.

 

[Vinny Boombatz]

Everyone at some point gets tired of the job and I believe that is the case here. Just another guy who wants to do something different before he eventually retires.

 

[moosemeister]

If it was a relocation thing, IIRC he stuck with the team when the Jets came to Phoenix, so I doubt it would be that. Personally, I think he's just done being the crisis communicator for the Mutts and wants something lower-stress and with more spare time for his family.

Being the pr official for this organization must be a nightmare. Haha

 

[Bonsai Tree]

Sometimes a cigar is just a cigar.

 

[The Feckless Puck]

Being the pr official for this organization must be a nightmare. Haha

From a professional standpoint, let me put it this way:

At one point in my motorsports career, I had to crisis manage an issue where one of our team's associates ended up getting arrested for some pretty nasty stuff (I won't go into more detail here for obvious reasons). I had to get up in the middle of the night, wipe all traces of him from our marketing and publicity materials, put together a press release and official statement, and brief our driver and other public-facing team members on the situation and what exactly they could say if asked by the media, all while being yelled at by our team owner to MOVE FASTER and IF YOU DON'T DO THIS RIGHT WE'RE ALL SCREWED and etc.

Now, extend that extremely busy 48 hours with very little sleep and no breaks over 27 years, and you have what Rich Nairn has been doing - most likely for less than the median salary for a guy in his position.

That he lasted this long speaks a lot for his character and skill, IMO.

 

[Jakey53]

i think the main worry most of us have is he's doing this in anticipation of the franchise relocating so he doesn't have to uproot his family/life again.

Stop with this relocating nonsense.

 

[hbk]

Stop with this relocating nonsense.

hey I am just vocalizing what some of us are worried about. I'm not putting that out there to be sensational.

 

[Yotes4Cup]

From a professional standpoint, let me put it this way:

At one point in my motorsports career, I had to crisis manage an issue where one of our team's associates ended up getting arrested for some pretty nasty stuff (I won't go into more detail here for obvious reasons). I had to get up in the middle of the night, wipe all traces of him from our marketing and publicity materials, put together a press release and official statement, and brief our driver and other public-facing team members on the situation and what exactly they could say if asked by the media, all while being yelled at by our team owner to MOVE FASTER and IF YOU DON'T DO THIS RIGHT WE'RE ALL SCREWED and etc.

Now, extend that extremely busy 48 hours with very little sleep and no breaks over 27 years, and you have what Rich Nairn has been doing - most likely for less than the median salary for a guy in his position.

That he lasted this long speaks a lot for his character and skill, IMO.

Sounds like a lot of jobs in corporate America

 

[The Feckless Puck]

Sounds like a lot of jobs in corporate America

I'd be hard-pressed to find another company that has been this far against the ropes for so long as the Coyotes have been...

 

[AZviaNJ]

Met Rich a few times....really nice guy. IMO he's very much a behind the scenes and let stories speak for themselves (what a concept Todd Walsh!) type of guy.

Wish him well.

 

[Bonsai Tree]

hey I am just vocalizing what some of us are worried about. I'm not putting that out there to be sensational.

uh huh

 

[GiveAFlyingPuck]

He always found time to answer my questions on Twitter, even though I'm a nobody.

 

[Mosby]

Who is applying?

Vice President, Brand PR & Communications - Arizona Coyotes

Job Title: VP, PR & CommunicationsDepartment: Brand & Marketing Reporting: President & CEOStatus:&...

www.teamworkonline.com

 

[The Feckless Puck]

Who is applying?

Vice President, Brand PR & Communications - Arizona Coyotes

Job Title: VP, PR & CommunicationsDepartment: Brand & Marketing Reporting: President & CEOStatus:&...

www.teamworkonline.com

I hate myself a little bit for looking seriously at this job posting for more than 5 minutes. But I've already burned out on one sport - I think I want to keep my enthusiasm for hockey, and it's hard enough doing that in the face of the trolls and critics without staking my professional rep and living on it...

EDIT TO ADD: I would also probably shoot myself if I had to spend even a femtosecond promoting lifestyle and fashion, which is a requirement for this post.

 

[Yotes4Cup]

I'd be hard-pressed to find another company that has been this far against the ropes for so long as the Coyotes have been...

That was his job, I have no sympathy for him just because it was with Arizona. He did a good job, but now he can move on and somebody else can take over. There are plenty of people chomping at the bit to take his spot, just like most well-paid jobs in North America.

 

[Yotes2000]

Who is applying?

Vice President, Brand PR & Communications - Arizona Coyotes

Job Title: VP, PR & CommunicationsDepartment: Brand & Marketing Reporting: President & CEOStatus:&...

www.teamworkonline.com

Looking at that posting, I know for a fact Rich wasn't doing most of those things. He's more of a traditional Hockey media guy.

I know my initial post was a DOOMER post but I actually think this is a good thing for the Org. Rich never was one to battle the perceptions of the club that hard.

 

[The Feckless Puck]

That was his job, I have no sympathy for him just because it was with Arizona. He did a good job, but now he can move on and somebody else can take over. There are plenty of people chomping at the bit to take his spot, just like most well-paid jobs in North America.

This glosses over all of the context and nuance that attend this specific discipline in this specific environment - kind of like saying, "Meh, brain surgeon, air conditioning repair, same thing" - but because this is the Internet and context and nuance are both dead, I'll give you a pass.