Most unjust coach firings?

[David Puddy]

Was it politically correct ??? ... were the comments insensative ??? No and yes. doesn't mean it wasn't the right move at the time.

I don't disagree with replacing as head coach, but to dump him the organization at such a time was pretty rotten. Let's compare and contrast that with Pat Burns, Lou Lamoriello and the New Jersey Devils

"The Devils saved my life," Burns told the Toronto Sun. "(Devils president) Lou Lamoriello, I owe everything to that guy."

Burns underwent surgery and chemotherapy and he said his medical expenses surpassed $1.5 million, an amount he couldn't have handled without health insurance with the Devils. ​

source: Rick Sadowski in the Rocky Mountain News

 

[Chili]

Claude Julien, 2006

Absolutely. He had a winning record. He was fired because he decided that Cristobal Huet gave the team a better chance to win than Jose Theodore. Bob Gainey had to go behind the bench to see that for himself. As pointed out, predictable because GM's like to put their own choice in place.

A good friend pointed out to me the last three coaches the Habs fired are all looking pretty good right now.

 

[Cyclops II*]

Firing the coach is often just a kneejerk reaction by management if a team is slumping to appease the media and fans who are looking for somebody to pay for the team not winning the Cup. The "fire the coach" crusade reaches ridiculous proportions at times. On this board this season, probably about 25 of the 30 team boards have had threads about how the coach needs to be fired (though they rarely have any suggestions about who they should hire who would be better.)

Anyways, if management makes that decision, it can backfire a lot. Some of the worst examples:

Don Cherry Boston 1979: I know he's not the most popular person on this board, but he was a good coach. He was fired simply because he didn't get along with Harry Sinden, but Sinden must have noticed that the players liked Cherry and were willing to play hard for him. Sometimes you have to put aside a personal dislike for somebody if they're performing well.

Peter Laviolette Islanders 2003: Another stroke of genius courtesy of Mike Milbury. I remember when it happened during the 2003 playoffs, a reporter asked Pat Burns (who didn't know about it) his opinion and Burns reply was something like "They fired him? W hy the heck would they do that?" Seeing Laviolette win the Cup with Carolina must've really stung with Islander fans.

Roger Neilson Toronto 1979: Did a good job the two years he was in Toronto, but Harold Ballard thought the team needed a change. And they did change: they went from a respectable team to a joke. Don't forget the whole fired/rehired paper bag fiasco either.

Jacques Demers Montreal 1995: Sorry, but firing the coach, a coach who won a Stanley Cup, five games into the season is just Pejorative Slured.

Any others?

Al MacNeil after winning a Stanley Cup.

 

[Ol' Jase]

and you would be incorrect.

His contract expired, and he wasn't offered and new one to be the head coach of the Flyers. He was offered numerous other positions in the organization.

The comment was obviously ill advised, but the decision was the logical move.

The Flyers under Neilson twice lost in the first round (98 & 99), and looked brutal doing so. Craig Ramsey took over for Neilson, while he was diagnosed with cancer, and the team made it to game 7 of the Eastern Conference Finals, while playing without Eric Lindros.

Just like a player stepping in for an injured player and taking over someone's job, Ramsay did the same. The team responded to him, and he was named head coach, and deservedly so.


Was it politically correct ??? ... were the comments insensative ??? No and yes. doesn't mean it wasn't the right move at the time.

Thanks for the clarification.

 

[Morris Wanchuk]

If you take out Don Cherry, that makes a good list.
Cherry brought a very good team absolutely nowhere, and he was the reason why his team loss a 7th game...

Are you kidding me. Cherry got the most out of his teams. You had guys like o'reilly, weinsick, and Jonathan scoring goals. That WAS the lunch box team. They were not the bruins of the early 70s.. far from it. But if the Bruins of the early 70s had cherry as their coach and had the work ethic that the late 70s teams did they could have won 5 cups in a row.

Cherry bringing the team no where? Give me a break

 

[Snap Wilson]

Al MacNeil after winning a Stanley Cup.

That had to happen. It was either lose him or Henri Richard. And besides, look who took over for him.

 

[Big Phil]

If you take out Don Cherry, that makes a good list.
Cherry brought a very good team absolutely nowhere, and he was the reason why his team loss a 7th game...

That's ridiculous. He lost three times to the greatest NHL dynasty of alltime. In '77 He was swept in teh finals by Mtl. A year later they went 6 games in teh finals then in '79 they went to OT in Game 7 in the semis. You see a pattern here? They lost to the Habs every year. If you put Bowman on Boston and Cherry on Montreal for those years I think you still have the same result. Montreal was that good. Sinden just fired coaches in his career for moronic reasons. If you havent won a Cup since '72 then there is a common denominator.

 

[Trottier]

Any others?

I always wondered about Jean Perron losing his job in Montreal a year after his team won the Cup ('86).

 

[CavemanLawyer]

And where precisely did I claim Neilson was fired????

Well while you didn't, you posted the quote in reply to someone else stating he was fired. I'm sure John was just giving a heads up to everybody letting them know he wasn't fired and was trying to make Bobby Clarke look somewhat more upstanding then what the quote and someone claiming Clarke fired Nielson would make him out to be.

 

[Harry22]

This was one of the worst firings I've ever seen. Houle panicked and fired Demers after Montreal started the season with a five-game losing streak. Demers was a great coach; perhaps his greatest skill was his ability to ensure that many of his big-ego stars remained focused and committed to the team. Montreal would really miss that for the rest of the season. Demers also kept his teams fairly disciplined.

However, the firing was more than about losing Demers. The result was that the inexperienced Mario Tremblay was brought in as head coach. He had no professional coaching experience at the NHL level and, history shows, he seemed to have irrational feuds with various players. Tremblay left Roy in goal for that terrible loss to Detroit, which caused him to leave the team. No competent coach should allow his star player to get embarassed like that. But it was more than just that game; Demers picked on Roy all year. I remember several newspaper stories indicating the two of them almost having fist fights in various parts of the city.

In short, firing Demers cost a great coach and Patrick Roy.

Hmmm...Houle didn't fire Demers, he got hired as GM with Tremblay as HC after Demers and Savard were fired by Ronald Core.

 

[pappyline]

Another early season firing was Bill Gadsby of the Wings in 69-70 with a 2-0 record after having a winning record the previous year. (mind you every team from first to last had a winning record in 68-69 whereas only one team in the west did).

 

[trenton1]

I always wondered about Jean Perron losing his job in Montreal a year after his team won the Cup ('86).

Trotts, I think he got 2 seasons. Pretty sure he was there in '88 when they lost to Boston in the 2nd round...that would have been his undoing.

My slightly more recent pick would probably be Rick Bowness in Boston after 1991-1992. It was his rookie season as an NHL coach and the team set the record (at the time) for most man games lost to injury and most players used (something like 54). Bowness and his battered Neely-less squad filled with rookies and journeymen battled all the way to the conf. finals before bowing to Mario and the Pens.
Harry fired him in June, reportedly, because Brian Sutter was available.
Very unjust firing, even though I have to hand it to the shrewd Sinden for doing it his way trying to upgrade his team by any means possible. Didn't work though. In three seasons Sutter only won one playoff round to Bowness' two in one season.

 

[Wetcoaster]

Well while you didn't, you posted the quote in reply to someone else stating he was fired. I'm sure John was just giving a heads up to everybody letting them know he wasn't fired and was trying to make Bobby Clarke look somewhat more upstanding then what the quote and someone claiming Clarke fired Nielson would make him out to be.

The he should have taken the poster who actually claimed he was fired to task, not me.

 

[PhansterZ]

I remembered Ron Wilson getting fired by the Mighty Ducks after the 96-97 season. This is after guiding them to the playoffs for the first time and winning a playoff series against the coyotes. They eventually lost to powerhouse detroit (who won the cup).

The next year, He guided the caps to a stanley cup appearance while the ducks missed the playoffs.

 

[Buffaloed]

The Flyers under Neilson twice lost in the first round (98 & 99), and looked brutal doing so. Craig Ramsey took over for Neilson, while he was diagnosed with cancer, and the team made it to game 7 of the Eastern Conference Finals, while playing without Eric Lindros.

Just like a player stepping in for an injured player and taking over someone's job, Ramsay did the same. The team responded to him, and he was named head coach, and deservedly so.

Then Ramsay was fired something like 30 games into the following season because the team only had a .500 record. That one always struck me as a panic move.

 

[John Flyers Fan]

Then Ramsay was fired something like 30 games into the following season because the team only had a .500 record. That one always struck me as a panic move.

I'm not sure what happened to Ramsay. He was excellent during the 2000 playoffs, but the start of the 2001 season was just horrendous.

I've never seen a Flyers team play such poor team defense as that one did to start the year. I can't say that was disappointed to see him go.

Also no team has saw fit to give him another head coaching job. Some are better suited to be assistant coaches.

 

[12# Peter Bondra]

I'm not sure what happened to Ramsay. He was excellent during the 2000 playoffs, but the start of the 2001 season was just horrendous.

I've never seen a Flyers team play such poor team defense as that one did to start the year. I can't say that was disappointed to see him go.

Also no team has saw fit to give him another head coaching job. Some are better suited to be assistant coaches.

What happened to Bill Barber? He won the Jack Adams IIRC and was fired the next season?

 

[John Flyers Fan]

What happened to Bill Barber? He won the Jack Adams If I recall correctly and was fired the next season?

He coached the entire next season and was let go a player revolt and the most embarassing playoff loss in Flyers history. Scoring just two goals in a 5 game defeat to the Senators.

Barber is from Sutter school of coaching, where the answer to everything is "work harder". By late in the season Primeau was the one trying to design a strategy to play against the trap.

Barber's Jack Adams was built on the brilliance of Chechmanek and riding the top line of Recchi-Primeau-Gagne.

While Clarke to most of the heat for his goaltending choices (usually unfairly so), his biggest fault was the string of coaches he had bwteen Terry Murray and Ken Hitchcock.

Cashman --> Neilson --> Ramsay --> Barber