Speculation: Forecasting the Head Coaching position for 2013-2014

[Jaxs]

I think that the players see the writing on the wall with the new hirings and Howson being let go. The atmosphere has changed, and if one wants to be a part of it, jump aboard or get the hell out.

I don't know what Richards says or does to motivate guys to leave it all on the ice, but he has a great selling point by using the reality they all find themselves in, playing and coaching for their jobs. In the end, I think Richards will be let go, he finds himself the hire of a previous administration. That usually doesn't last unless extrordinary things happen- 30th place.

 

[CBJx614]

I think that the players see the writing on the wall with the new hirings and Howson being let go. The atmosphere has changed, and if one wants to be a part of it, jump aboard or get the hell out.

I don't know what Richards says or does to motivate guys to leave it all on the ice, but he has a great selling point by using the reality they all find themselves in, playing and coaching for their jobs. In the end, I think Richards will be let go, he finds himself the hire of a previous administration. That usually doesn't last unless extrordinary things happen- 30th place.

I like Richards, but he is not the future of this team. JD, JK and whoever the next coach all landed a goldmine of a job. They have overcrowding at the D position, 4picks in the first 33 picks. With a solid foundation already established, and the house already built all they need to do is move in(put their guys in place/in the system)

 

[Dr. Fire]

Quite frankly, I would still love to see Dave King come back to coach this soon to be younger team. I just can't see him leaving Phoenix, however, unless they are relocated.

Then, maybe.

I grew up in Phoenix, and if I were in his position at his age, retiring in Phoenix would be very attractive, rather than coming to Columbus for a few years.

 

[Double-Shift Lasse]

I think Richards and his coaches have done a good job. They have been able to keep this team focused even when they have not attained the wins. Both JD and JK will do a fair evaluation before they act one way or another.

This, to a 't'.

 

[KeithBWhittington]

It seems to me you don't even let him begin the last year of his contract. You either have to give him an extension or fire him. There's no sense letting him be a lame duck coach in the final year of his contract.

IMO, Richards should be the coach going forward. Hard to argue with the fact that he has the team playing with passion, discipline, and hard work. Get the guy some talent to compete with and those three traits will pay off.

That said, pro sports is a business and JD and JK will likely bring in their own guy. And, I have no problem with that. As long as the team starts winning, I'm happy.

Fitting with the business model thus far from JD (firing Howson before the offseason, already having "his" guy ready) and JK (firing Larsson well before his contract expiration in July) I can easily see Richards being a "One and Done" coach here, but if your going to be taking lumps for a few seasons while the new guys re-organize, strategize and build, it would seem to make a lot of sense to go ahead and give Richards his final year at the helm anyways, assuming he continues to play ball and he continues to have these players playing hard each and every night. I don't see him openly calling for an extension, certainly not when the guys that hired him are gone or reassigned. Richards will handle this professionally, and I think thats what his bosses are counting on. Richards will be a company man, and he'll get glowing reviews and references for it from JD and JK.

 

[NotWendell]

I'm not a big Richards fan, but I must admit this: a coach should be evaluated on whether or not he is getting everything out of the players he has. With this criteria in mind, I can't deny Coach Richards another turn at the helm to start next season.

 

[Sore Loser]

I'm not a big Richards fan, but I must admit this: a coach should be evaluated on whether or not he is getting everything out of the players he has. With this criteria in mind, I can't deny Coach Richards another turn at the helm to start next season.

I agree.

 

[Zarathustra]

I'm not a big Richards fan, but I must admit this: a coach should be evaluated on whether or not he is getting everything out of the players he has. With this criteria in mind, I can't deny Coach Richards another turn at the helm to start next season.

I can't decide on whether I like him enough to keep him or not, so I won't comment on that part.

But I think it's worth mentioning that even though we aren't competitive in the standings, I see us being competitive on the ice. Most of our loses are only by one goal with a squad that doesn't have really any legitimate scorers.

At the same time there are parts of the game that worry me, like our slow starts and our inability to set up in the zone, even on the power play.

 

[db2011]

I'm not a big Richards fan, but I must admit this: a coach should be evaluated on whether or not he is getting everything out of the players he has. With this criteria in mind, I can't deny Coach Richards another turn at the helm to start next season.

I feel similarly. I'm not a huge fan, but these guys are playing pretty well. It could have a lot to do with the roster, since most of the guys are "hard workers" anyway. He does make questionable personnel decisions at specific junctures. But he's got the team playing hard-nosed hockey and I feel it's not too far off that these one-goal losses start swinging our way.

Not an easy decision with Richards. Also, I do like the guy based on interviews

 

[Columbus Mike]

I'm not a big Richards fan, but I must admit this: a coach should be evaluated on whether or not he is getting everything out of the players he has. With this criteria in mind, I can't deny Coach Richards another turn at the helm to start next season.

I fully agree, but don't expect him back. I think if you are going to change the culture, you go all the way (Mason, this includes you). Compare Richards to Coach X (available this offseason), and I think JD will find his man.

Too bad for TR, because he is getting a lot out of this group.

 

[Roadman]

I fully agree, but don't expect him back. I think if you are going to change the culture, you go all the way (Mason, this includes you). Compare Richards to Coach X (available this offseason), and I think JD will find his man.

Too bad for TR, because he is getting a lot out of this group.

I don't think Richards is a part of the old culture. In fact it seems he has been a big part of instilling the "new" work ethic, going as far back as when he took over the end of last year. The general consensus appears to be that he is getting maximum effort out of the team, for the most part.

And I agree that when the mgmt team compares Richard with Coach X & Y & Z, they will find their man. I just wouldn't be surprised if it turns out to be Richards. The main thing I find troubling is the lack of production out of the PP. And I'm not sure if it's a talent issue or a coaching issue. There have been a few times it has looked very good, albeit a very few, but for the most part it has been mundane to be generous. It may be that the lack of familiarity and practice that contributes to the inconsistency; injuries, youth also figure in. It has to be addressed, specialty units are key to success in the NHL. The PK does well, the PP not so much.

 

[Viqsi]

I fully agree, but don't expect him back. I think if you are going to change the culture, you go all the way (Mason, this includes you). Compare Richards to Coach X (available this offseason), and I think JD will find his man.

Too bad for TR, because he is getting a lot out of this group.

I find that to be rather absurd, on a par with suggestions like how we needed to move away from Machinehead as a team song because it "reminded folks of losing."

If the guy can do the job, let him do the job. Don't jump to conclusions based exclusively on date of hire.

 

[KeithBWhittington]

Richards will likely be replaced when Jarmo's vision of what he wants his teams to be comes closer to fruition. As long as they are competing hard each night, thats what counts right now. Keep the fans engaged despite the record until we know where this trains going in the future.

I think Richards greatest threat to finishing out his career is potentially landing the top overall pick this draft. If the guy can step right into the NHL, I don't see Jarmo gambling on the last year of Richards deal if his top pick is going to be in the lineup. He'll get his guy.

Like I've said, Richards was dealt a pretty poor hand here from the beginning. He's definitely done much better than I thought he would (I don't think he's a great coach, but the room has changed, monumentally, since the beginning of last season).

 

[Viqsi]

I think Richards greatest threat to finishing out his career is potentially landing the top overall pick this draft. If the guy can step right into the NHL, I don't see Jarmo gambling on the last year of Richards deal if his top pick is going to be in the lineup. He'll get his guy.

Why not? Richards has at least managed to create a competitive atmosphere, which is a Very Good Thing for prospect development.

This still feels like date-of-hire discrimination.

 

[KeithBWhittington]

Why not? Richards has at least managed to create a competitive atmosphere, which is a Very Good Thing for prospect development.

This still feels like date-of-hire discrimination.

Its office politics, V. I know you don't want to hear that, but I think its the truth. Thats what will ultimately decide Richards future here. I said it earlier in this thread that its a foreign thing to many of us, the "Office Politics Hockey" firing, simply because Howson was very slow on moving pieces in Operations/development and the last coach to be fired for "Office Politics" here was Dave King. Richards can be a good soldier, keep his head down, keep this team competitive and he'll get glowing reviews despite what we all expect will not be a stellar W-L record anytime soon.

Its good he's kept the team competitive considering the record. I applaud him for the job he's done thus far, and you're right, a competitive atmosphere is conducive to good prospect development. But I can't overlook the two recent hires above him. Todd may get his second year, but I would bet double or nothing that he's not retained beyond his current contract.

 

[Viqsi]

Its office politics, V. I know you don't want to hear that, but I think its the truth. Thats what will ultimately decide Richards future here. I said it earlier in this thread that its a foreign thing to many of us, the "Office Politics Hockey" firing, simply because Howson was very slow on moving pieces in Operations/development and the last coach to be fired for "Office Politics" here was Dave King.

It's not just a "not want to hear" thing, it's a "whether or not I trust these guys" thing.

When I first got started following the Jackets, it was the season just before Doug MacLean was fired. I had no idea why that had been done at the time, and so started to do my research. The event I learned about that really started to clue me in to just how broken his administration was was that very same Dave King firing.

That would be an uncomfortable reminder of same.

 

[blahblah]

If the guy can do the job, let him do the job. Don't jump to conclusions based exclusively on date of hire.

The reality is with a new regime, even money is that we'll be looking for a new head coach. Especially if we finish bottom 5, no matter how competitive we are.

Just kind of how things tend to work. New guys tend to bring in their own guys.

Could this be the exception? Sure. To be honest, despite the way we are playing there are just too many little things you can look at with Richards and criticize.

 

[Viqsi]

The reality is with a new regime, even money is that we'll be looking for a new head coach. Especially if we finish bottom 5, no matter how competitive we are.

Just kind of how things tend to work. New guys tend to bring in their own guys.

Could this be the exception? Sure. To be honest, despite the way we are playing there are just too many little things you can look at with Richards and criticize.

True (I sometimes wonder about his personnel decisions myself), and I'm not saying that if Richards does get removed that I'll hate JD/JK forever or something. Just that, for me, that would be potential cause for alarm.

 

[Roadman]

The reality is with a new regime, even money is that we'll be looking for a new head coach. Especially if we finish bottom 5, no matter how competitive we are.

Just kind of how things tend to work. New guys tend to bring in their own guys.

Could this be the exception? Sure. To be honest, despite the way we are playing there are just too many little things you can look at with Richards and criticize.

But then is there a perfect coach that you can't criticize for something? I just hope it's not a change for the sake of change.

I am actually rather neutral on whether he goes or not. If they bring in someone new fine, if they don't fine. I hope it's for a definitive reason and not just another retread of a good old boy.

 

[blahblah]

True (I sometimes wonder about his personnel decisions myself), and I'm not saying that if Richards does get removed that I'll hate JD/JK forever or something. Just that, for me, that would be potential cause for alarm.

Not sure I'd be alarmed, even if I was completely behind the Richards. Hitch was a bit insulated, but if he hadn't been I figured Howson might have made a change far quicker. Not saying it is right or wrong, but at that level I would be hard pressed to bring back a bit of a lame duck head coach. The team performance would have to force me not to make a move.

 

[blahblah]

But then is there a perfect coach that you can't criticize for something? I just hope it's not a change for the sake of change.

I think you might have missed the "too many" part of the sentence. Change for the sake of change is a bit subjective. They will have reasons, if they do let him go, that they will not make apparent to us. Just because you aren't aware of it doesn't mean it isn't valid or they are doing it just because they feel like it.

We accepted Howson based on "It was time for a change". We would get about the same reason.

Richards knows his chances of surviving aren't in his favor.

Richards is an ok coach, but he's certainly not someone I would lose sleep over if he was let go. He exceeded my expectations, but he certainly hasn't came close to "Must not lose him" category. Frankly I wouldn't be surprised if this is more the players holding this together than much the head coach is doing.

Frankly I wanted Howson to go with Paul MacLean, but what do I know?

 

[OldGoaltender]

I tend to look at hirings from the political point of view. It would be like a new president coming in will want to bring in his own people regardless of the job your predecessor's people did.

 

[Roadman]

I think you might have missed the "too many" part of the sentence. Change for the sake of change is a bit subjective. They will have reasons, if they do let him go, that they will not make apparent to us. Just because you aren't aware of it doesn't mean it isn't valid or they are doing it just because they feel like it.

We accepted Howson based on "It was time for a change". We would get about the same reason.

Richards knows his chances of surviving aren't in his favor.

Richards is an ok coach, but he's certainly not someone I would lose sleep over if he was let go. He exceeded my expectations, but he certainly hasn't came close to "Must not lose him" category. Frankly I wouldn't be surprised if this is more the players holding this together than much the head coach is doing.

It will be interesting to see who will available. With JD's contacts I'm sure he has already had some discussions.

Are there tampering rules for coaches as well as players?

It may well be they already have an individual targeted muck like the manner in which JK was brought in.

 

[NotWendell]

In the spirit of Ken Hitchcock...

P.S. So not the same!

 

[CBJWerenski8]

As much as I am growing on Richards, its still hard to imagine him being the Head Coach next year.