Being the coach of an NHL team may sound like a good gig, but it can be a difficult job if you like to have job security. Or, if your boss happens to be Lou Lamoriello.
When your team is winning it’s great being the coach. All of your plays and planning are working to perfection and nothing you ever do is wrong. Once that winning stops, look out because everyone will be calling you out. You can go on making all the same decisions you made while you we’re winning, but now that those W’s have become L’s those decisions are all wrong. (For more NHL Stanley Cup hockey articles, check out Bodog Beat.)
Even winning isn’t good enough for some people. You can be voted as the best coach in the league and still end up looking for a job at the end of the season. Just ask Ted Nolan. What can hurt even more is not seeing it coming. Nolan at least knew his days in Buffalo were numbered, but I don’t think the same can be said for former Devils coach Claude Julien this season.
New Jersey was first in the Atlantic Division with a 47-24-8 record and only three regular-season games left when Julien was given the axe. If the Devils had won 48 games instead of 47, would Julien still have a job? Only Lamoriello knows that for sure. If you work for the Devils I wouldn’t recommend asking him, because he might fire you.
If you plan on becoming a coach in the NHL make sure your luggage is always ready to go and your resume is always up to date if you ever make it to the big leagues. The job security of an NHL head coach compares to the life expectancy of a house fly. The head coach to hold his current job the longest is Lindy Ruff, who has been with Buffalo since 1997. Only one other NHL head coach had been with his current team longer than seven years. Ten years is an eternity in coaching as most of the current bench bosses don’t have more than three years under their belt with their current team.
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