I will say that I would be open to Lindy bringing in his own GM, similar to McBeane. Then when the time comes moving Lindy to POHO and hiring the next HC.
Terry isn't going to relinquish his stupid leadership style, that means the deck needs to be stacked against him with somebody he trusts. I think our best bet is that Lindy is shining a light on how dumb everybody is around him.
I get what you are saying, but the NHL is so much different than football. In football, the coaches are the CEO. In the NHL, coaches are at the bottom rung of importance or influence and are the first to get fired.
Personality-wise, we struck gold with the Bills with McDermott. I feel like he is respectful enough where he listens to Pegula, but is bullheaded enough where he does it his own-way (and probably outlines why). He sounds like an extremely convincing and thorough guy. I also think he is in the top 1/4 of NFL coaches, and even without Josh Allen, his floor is pretty high.
Hockey is so much more intricate than the NFL though. Salary cap decisions cannot be reversed in a year or 2. You are scouting teens across the planet in apples-to-oranges leagues and trying to project how they will play in the NHL as adults. The critical mix for an NHL team is much more complicated than a football team.
So let's just put Lindy as POHO.... maybe? He has extensive experience as a player, captain, and coach, and has seen multiple organizations at this point. He carries credibility and seems like he should be well-respected. Bringing in his own GM would be a good move, obviously because that is a big workload. I would rather Lindy bring in a GM as POHO though and not a HC. I think many GM candidates would balk at being selected by a HC. Firing a coach is a lever any GM should be free to pull at any time.