Quickest Coach Firing

[Cardiac Jerks]

I'm trying to find out what the shortest period of time a coach has lasted from the date of his hiring, not a particular season. The reason being a guy I know says the sens should fire Hartsburg

Anyone know?

Click to read more...

 

[MiamiScreamingEagles]

This doesn't answer your question but here are other short stints:

http://www.canada.com/edmontonjourn....html?id=c8ea3e46-e59a-46b9-a007-f004f590082d

According to the Elias Sports Bureau, in 1969-70, Detroit Red Wings coach Bill Gadsby quit after two games, both wins, because he was tired of interference from ownership. In 2001-02, the late Ivan Hlinka was gassed after four losses in Pittsburgh and was replaced by Rick Kehoe. Last year, Bob Hartley in Atlanta was fired after starting 0-6.

 

[Vector]

Richard quit as the Nordiques coach after one game. This was in the WHA, though.

 

[sonny side up]

11/15/08 - Tampa Bay Lightning Fire Barry Melrose after a 2-11-3 to begin the season with the Lightning. The Lightning are coming off a 6-2 loss against Detroit and a 7 game losing streak.

haha... quickest firing after start with a new team? would be a nice bday present

 

[mrhockey193195]

Rangers fired Bryan Trottier after about 30 games...I'm sure that's not the quickest, but it must be up there.

 

[Canadiens Fan]

Rangers fired Bryan Trottier after about 30 games...I'm sure that's not the quickest, but it must be up there.

Did Boom-Boom Geoffrion even make it to thirty games as the Habs coach in 1979-80?

 

[Palinka]

This doesn't answer your question but here are other short stints:

According to Gadsby, he was fired without a reason given after two games with Detroit. I still don't think he knows why it happened.

 

[greatgazoo]

I'm trying to find out what the shortest period of time a coach has lasted from the date of his hiring, not a particular season. The reason being a guy I know says the sens should fire Hartsburg

Anyone know?

You should tell that guy you know that if anyone is to be fired in Ottawa it should be their GM Bryan Murray who has driven that team into the ground. Look at that defense where they have no puck moving d-men. This is the new NHL where you've got to be able to get the puck out of your end. Without it..you're dead.

Then there's the goaltending....good grief Charlie Brown!

 

[Wetcoaster]

P H D...

Pride Hustle Desire - the motto of junior coach Bill Laforge who was 33 when hired by the Canucks. He predicted that the Canucks would win 50 games in 1984-85 when he took over.

The players were in revolt over his junior coaching tactics and he was fired 20 games into the season after posting a record of 4-14-2. At that rate he would have achieved 50 wins... in about 3 seasons.

 

[Palinka]

Didn't Chicago hire someone way back in the day who saw the roster of 20 players and told them it would be six 60-minute guys and fourteen substitutes?

I can't remember his name, but supposedly Major McLaughlin didn't believe it until he came to a practice one day and fired the guy on the spot.

 

[pnep]

I'm trying to find out what the shortest period of time a coach has lasted from the date of his hiring, not a particular season. The reason being a guy I know says the sens should fire Hartsburg

Anyone know?

quickest firings from the date of hiring (post-1967 era)

Coach|Season|Franch.|GP|W|L|T|PTS|W %
GARVIN, Frederick "Ted"|1973-74|DET|11|2|8|1|5|11,36%
HOWELL, Harry|1978-79|DAL|11|3|6|2|8|18,18%
PLAGER, Robert Bryan|1992-93|STL|11|4|6|1|9|20,45%
WATSON, Bryan Joseph|1980-81|EDM|18|4|9|5|13|18,06%

quickest firings from the start of a season

Coach|SEASON|Franch|GP|W|L|T|SOL|WIN%
THOMPSON, Paul Ivan|1944-45|CHI|1|0|1|0||0,00%
GADSBY, William Alexander|1969-70|DET|2|2|0|0||100,00%
RODDEN, Michael J.*|1926-27|TOR|2|0|2|||0,00%
SMYTHE, Conn|1930-31|TOR|2|1|0|1||75,00%
GLOVER, Frederick Austin|1971-72|CLE|3|0|1|2||33,33%
SAVARD, Denis|2008-09|CHI|4|1|2||1|37,50%
HLINKA, Ivan|2001-02|PIT|4|0|4|0||0,00%
DEMERS, Jacques Jean|1995-96|MTL|4|0|4|0||0,00%

* - Interim?

 

[Fuzzy Bunny]

Hlinka may have been fired soon into that season but he had coached the previous year as well.

He did not fulfill his promise to get better at english, and outside of being the czech boys butt slappers while a true great of the game did not transition well to North America. His 0-4 start was just a good excuse to not delay fate.

 

[MS]

Coach|SEASON|Franch|GP|W|L|T|SOL|WIN%
THOMPSON, Paul Ivan|1944-45|CHI|1|0|1|0||0,00%
GADSBY, William Alexander|1969-70|DET|2|2|0|0||100,00%
RODDEN, Michael J.*|1926-27|TOR|2|0|2|||0,00%
SMYTHE, Conn|1930-31|TOR|2|1|0|1||75,00%
GLOVER, Frederick Austin|1971-72|CLE|3|0|1|2||33,33%
SAVARD, Denis|2008-09|CHI|4|1|2||1|37,50%
HLINKA, Ivan|2001-02|PIT|4|0|4|0||0,00%

* - Interim?

Those are the quickest firings from the start of a season for pre-existing coaches - ie. Savard had been coaching in Chicago for a couple years.

Do you have the numbers for the quickest from the date of hiring (excluding interim coaches)? Laforge must be the quickest in the post-1967 era.

 

[ck26]

Ned Harkness was a really good American college coach who won three national titles before the Red Wings hired him in '70 or '71 or thereabouts. He was 11-22-4 when the Wings hired someone to replace him. He was way too strict and heavy-handed, trying to boss around guys like Gordie Howe and Alex Delvecchio! I even heard a story that during the individual pre-season meetings with the players, he cared less about how Garry Unger's bad back was doing and more about when Unger was going to cut his long hair! Just a terrible fit.

 

[The Goaltending Guru]

This doesn't answer your question but here are other short stints:

But Hartley wasn't fired 6 games into his tenure in Atlanta, just 6 games into a season. He had been there for about a year before.

 

[seventieslord]

The first one that came to mind was Trottier, but according to pnep's list, he doesn't even make the top-5... wow!

 

[pappyline]

quickest firings from the date of hiring (post-1967 era)

Coach|Season|Franch.|GP|W|L|T|PTS|W %
GARVIN, Frederick "Ted"|1973-74|DET|11|2|8|1|5|11,36%
HOWELL, Harry|1978-79|DAL|11|3|6|2|8|18,18%
PLAGER, Robert Bryan|1992-93|STL|11|4|6|1|9|20,45%
WATSON, Bryan Joseph|1980-81|EDM|18|4|9|5|13|18,06%

quickest firings from the start of a season

Coach|SEASON|Franch|GP|W|L|T|SOL|WIN%
THOMPSON, Paul Ivan|1944-45|CHI|1|0|1|0||0,00%
GADSBY, William Alexander|1969-70|DET|2|2|0|0||100,00%
RODDEN, Michael J.*|1926-27|TOR|2|0|2|||0,00%
SMYTHE, Conn|1930-31|TOR|2|1|0|1||75,00%
GLOVER, Frederick Austin|1971-72|CLE|3|0|1|2||33,33%
SAVARD, Denis|2008-09|CHI|4|1|2||1|37,50%
HLINKA, Ivan|2001-02|PIT|4|0|4|0||0,00%

* - Interim?

Odd to see Conn Smythe on that list. Assume he fired himself.

 

[lemieux32*]

quickest firings from the date of hiring (post-1967 era)

Coach|Season|Franch.|GP|W|L|T|PTS|W %
GARVIN, Frederick "Ted"|1973-74|DET|11|2|8|1|5|11,36%
HOWELL, Harry|1978-79|DAL|11|3|6|2|8|18,18%
PLAGER, Robert Bryan|1992-93|STL|11|4|6|1|9|20,45%
WATSON, Bryan Joseph|1980-81|EDM|18|4|9|5|13|18,06%

quickest firings from the start of a season

Coach|SEASON|Franch|GP|W|L|T|SOL|WIN%
THOMPSON, Paul Ivan|1944-45|CHI|1|0|1|0||0,00%
GADSBY, William Alexander|1969-70|DET|2|2|0|0||100,00%
RODDEN, Michael J.*|1926-27|TOR|2|0|2|||0,00%
SMYTHE, Conn|1930-31|TOR|2|1|0|1||75,00%
GLOVER, Frederick Austin|1971-72|CLE|3|0|1|2||33,33%
SAVARD, Denis|2008-09|CHI|4|1|2||1|37,50%
HLINKA, Ivan|2001-02|PIT|4|0|4|0||0,00%

* - Interim?

Bob Plager was not fired by the Blues.

 

[Ogopogo*]

I think Bill Laforge only lasted about 24 games as the coach of the Canucks back in the mid 80s.

 

[TheGoldenJet]

Rob Plager comes to mind.

EDIT--wow pnep, that's imperssive.

 

[Big Phil]

I'm trying to find out what the shortest period of time a coach has lasted from the date of his hiring, not a particular season. The reason being a guy I know says the sens should fire Hartsburg

Anyone know?

Got to agree with you about Hartsburg. He has a terrible knack of being outcoached all the time. Dont know why. But while he gets a lot of heroic treatment in Canada for being the guy who won the last two Golds at the WJC the truth is we needed an overtime win in both years in either the Gold game or semis. It never should have gotten there.

 

[lemieux32*]

Rob Plager comes to mind.

EDIT--wow pnep, that's imperssive.

Bob (not Rob) Plager was not fired.

 

[ForsbergForever]

The Habs fired Jacques Demers after the team went 0-5 to start the 1995-96 season, not a record but still pretty early into the season..