On the bright side:
Scott seems like a good guy. He is a career assistant coach so he is well aware that this is his one and only shot to prove the world wrong so motivation shouldn’t be a problem. He was an assistant on a 110 point team and that was a really good run up until the playoffs.
On the less bright side:
This has the optics of being a loyalty hire two years in the making directed from the owner who already has a rep of being too loyal and soft on everyone except the fans who aren’t buying tickets.
If Scott fails, I don’t see Mark green lighting his termination. How bad would it have to get?
I am a Jets fan so I will hope for the best but I am more about the journey these days anyways. It’s my firm belief based on the Jets losing the last 4 games in a row in 5 of their 6 playoff seasons this core is not built for playoff hockey. My journey is more about watching games for entertainment value without any expectations of bright shinny objects that are silver with a cup or bowl on top. The coaching choice viewed through my new glasses doesn’t carry as much weight as it once did.
I doubt Scott will start out by firing any of his assistants but we’ll see. If the organization is happy with last seasons results (and I believe they are) then why would they change coaches? Chevy has said before (after the Vegas series) their goal is to get into the playoffs and then anything can happen and it appears that is their legit standard for success.
I sure hope you are wrong on a couple of points.
1. Assistant coaches - our Special Teams were almost beyond words bad most of the time. I've never seen any such numbers but I suspect that we had a better chance of scoring in any 2 minutes 5v5 than we did in 2 minutes at 5v4. At least until Monahan was added and Vilardi was healthy. The PK wasn't quite as bad, but close.
2. The standard for success - it does not need to be measured by winning a Cup, or by winning any lesser prize, President's Trophy, a Div, a Conf, or anything else. But it does need to be striving for the Cup, even if that requires missing the PO sometimes. If you are not striving for the Cup then every game is an exhibition game. Standings and W & L mean nothing. Making the PO means nothing. Try to win every game for the entertainment value, but don't even bother keeping track. Start with a clean slate every game.
3. Assistant coaches again - If nothing is done about ST then see point #2 above. They are not striving to win the Cup.