Who's Edmonton's coach anyway?

[GrkFlyersFan]

I thought MacTavish would be it for a while, and then a transition to Todd Nelson, but many sources, list Nelson as the coach already. NHL.com lists MacTavish as their coach on Tuesday in Arizona, but Nelson for last night.

Click to read more...

 

[ResilientBeast]

I thought MacTavish would be it for a while, and then a transition to Todd Nelson, but many sources, list Nelson as the coach already. NHL.com lists MacTavish as their coach on Tuesday in Arizona, but Nelson for last night.

MacT is just there to transition, technically Nelson is our HC i believe

 

[The Cheat]

The fans. Everyone in the crowd is given a button for which line goes out, and when to pull the goalie. People online can help the refs decide what is or is not a goal, penalty or when to put a spotlight on an opposing player as they enter the attacking zone.

It's part of the new fan-based-initiative (FBI) so all those people who claim to know be able to do a better job than the coach get their time to shine.

 

[friction]

The fans. Everyone in the crowd is given a button for which line goes out, and when to pull the goalie. People online can help the refs decide what is or is not a goal, penalty or when to put a spotlight on an opposing player as they enter the attacking zone.

It's part of the new fan-based-initiative (FBI) so all those people who claim to know be able to do a better job than the coach get their time to shine.

But only the top tier of fans get the button. Second tier fans have to watch it with their eyes pried open like A Clockwork Orange.

 

[The Cheat]

But only the top tier of fans get the button. Second tier fans have to watch it with their eyes pried open like A Clockwork Orange.

Imagine if the fans online had 15 seconds of interaction with a spotlight during a game? I would imagine someone would just put it on their goalie and flash it on and off, or shine it right into Pierre McGuire's box.

 

[dechire]

I thought it was completely ridiculous last night when there was 1 minute left and the Oilers were down by one and the camera showed MacT drawing up a play surrounded by players while Nelson just lingered off in the background completely uninvolved.


And then the Oilers lost of course.

 

[Anglesmith]

I thought it was completely ridiculous last night when there was 1 minute left and the Oilers were down by one and the camera showed MacT drawing up a play surrounded by players while Nelson just lingered off in the background completely uninvolved.


And then the Oilers lost of course.

To be fair, it's often an assistant coach who draws up set plays anyway.

 

[Mayor Bee]

The fans. Everyone in the crowd is given a button for which line goes out, and when to pull the goalie. People online can help the refs decide what is or is not a goal, penalty or when to put a spotlight on an opposing player as they enter the attacking zone.

It's part of the new fan-based-initiative (FBI) so all those people who claim to know be able to do a better job than the coach get their time to shine.

That's not new; the St. Louis Browns did this in 1951. They ran a "Manager For A Day" promotion that produced two winners, but the league told the team that it couldn't be done. So the team decided to give all the contest entrants seats behind the dugout and use their input to set the lineup, batting order, and any substitutions that would need to take place.

Funny thing is that part of the fans' lineup involved a big chance (putting Sherm Lollar in as the catcher; his playing time behind the plate had been cut after the team acquired Matt Batts). Lollar had a good 1950 season and looked to be breaking through, but Batts replaced him partway through the next season. Regular manager Zack Taylor liked Batts over Lollar, the fans preferred Lollar.

In the game on August 24, with 1,115 fans making the decisions, the Browns broke out of their 1-4 slump with a 5-3 victory. Lollar was 3/4 with two RBI and three runs scored. Batts went back into the lineup the next day, and the Browns lost their next five games.

The epilogue is that the Browns decided after the season to move a catcher. And so they traded Lollar to the White Sox, and he nearly immediately became the AL's second-best catcher behind Yogi Berra. The Browns continued to flounder.

 

[hockeygeek]

It's pretty dysfunctional. I don't even know how Oilers fans deal with it anymore. MacT gets fired as coach, promoted to GM, then puts himself back on the bench to transition a rookie coach. totally normal stuff

 

[Aceonfire*]

To be fair, it's often an assistant coach who draws up set plays anyway.

That doesn't count because it doesn't fit the narrative of this thread.

Clearly Lowe wanted more control over the team so he is using MacT as a puppet to create even more dysfunction.

The ultimate goal of McDavid will be achieved at all costs.

 

[Mit Yarrum]

I thought it was completely ridiculous last night when there was 1 minute left and the Oilers were down by one and the camera showed MacT drawing up a play surrounded by players while Nelson just lingered off in the background completely uninvolved.


And then the Oilers lost of course.

Only the Oilers man.

What exactly is this transitional nonsense? Why not hire a real coach or do it yourself?

 

[dechire]

To be fair, it's often an assistant coach who draws up set plays anyway.

The GM isn't exactly an assistant coach or at least he shouldn't be and if it's really transitional then Nelson should be the one leading at times like that to establish his position on the team. The Sharks commentators were pointing it out as being unusual and that it made it hard to tell who the coach was supposed to be. That was just one major example from the game though. From watching the game it was clear that Nelson wasn't doing much and MacT was in charge.

 

[Anglesmith]

The GM isn't exactly an assistant coach or at least he shouldn't be and if it's really transitional then Nelson should be the one leading at times like that to establish his position on the team. The Sharks commentators were pointing it out as being unusual and that it made it hard to tell who the coach was supposed to be. That was just one major example from the game though. From watching the game it was clear that Nelson wasn't doing much and MacT was in charge.

That is expected. It's MacTavish's bench until he goes back to the press box. If he wasn't intending on being in charge, he wouldn't be on the bench at all. Commentators being confused doesn't mean a whole lot. I've seen commentators wondering why there was no icing on a powerplay before.

 

[Era of Sanity]

The fans. Everyone in the crowd is given a button for which line goes out, and when to pull the goalie. People online can help the refs decide what is or is not a goal, penalty or when to put a spotlight on an opposing player as they enter the attacking zone.

It's part of the new fan-based-initiative (FBI) so all those people who claim to know be able to do a better job than the coach get their time to shine.

It's not perfect, but is an upgrade from Eakins.

 

[NeverForget06]

Only the Oilers man.

What exactly is this transitional nonsense? Why not hire a real coach or do it yourself?

Mac T thinks he can get all his ducks in a row in the dressing room in a small amount of time and then hand over the new and improved Oilers to Todd Nelson.

The reason Nelson is in instead of another coach is that he was already with the Oilers AHL team so the move was easy. Again the Oilers rushed the same decision they did with Eakins with likely the same results.

The only good news is that Nelson is not contracted long time so at the end of the season when things will more than likely have been just as bad as they are now they will be able to pick a real coach.

 

[hisgirlfriday]

The fans. Everyone in the crowd is given a button for which line goes out, and when to pull the goalie. People online can help the refs decide what is or is not a goal, penalty or when to put a spotlight on an opposing player as they enter the attacking zone.

It's part of the new fan-based-initiative (FBI) so all those people who claim to know be able to do a better job than the coach get their time to shine.

But if the fans are coaches who is there to throw a jersey on the ice?

 

[Cawz]

I thought MacTavish would be it for a while, and then a transition to Todd Nelson, but many sources, list Nelson as the coach already. NHL.com lists MacTavish as their coach on Tuesday in Arizona, but Nelson for last night.

It was supposed to be Nelson from day 1. It was either a mistake by NHL.com, or the play by play guys got it wrong before the game, since they said Nelson was going to be the official coach on record. They specifically touched on this, saying even though both are behind the bench, Nelson will officially get the W or L.

 

[HydroF]

This whole coaching situation seems ridiculous to me. How could this new coach promote confidence and command a locker room when the GM is essentially saying "this is your new coach, but I don't trust him yet, so you all can just watch as I train him on how to be a coach here"

 

[The Nuge]

Nelson is the coach. Imo, MacT is probably there, at least partially, to get a better feel for who should stay, and who needs to go

 

[Derrty]

Merry Christmas Oiler Fans!!!

 

[KCC]

MacT is there to help Nelson, but also to get a better feel of who wants to stay etc. It's unorthodox as you can easily tell in the press box, but I guess at this point who really cares what the team does.

 

[The Nuge]

But if the fans are coaches who is there to throw a jersey on the ice?

Eakins. There's a reason he's sticking around in Edmonton

 

[zhenyas most fly rep]

But if the fans are coaches who is there to throw a jersey on the ice?

The players.

 

[KPower]

The same guy running the team.

In other words, nobody has a clue.

 

[SickHandsNoShot]

Nelson is the coach. Imo, MacT is probably there, at least partially, to get a better feel for who should stay, and who needs to go

Does that not scream incompetent GM though...

Like, how is his situation any different from all the other GM's? No one else needs to go behind the bench to figure out who to trade.