The Next Coach of the Sharks Will Be….Mike Sullivan
May 12th, 2008, 7:09 pm
Step one has been taken. The long speculated, oft-debated coaching career of Ron Wilson has ended today in San Jose. While you can’t dispute the record and the success Ron Wilson has had behind the bench for the Sharks, he had taken this franchise as far as he was able to – season after season of playoff disappointment demanded that the Sharks head in a new direction. I think the timing of the decision shows a ton of class by the Sharks organiziation and Doug Wilson himself, to relieve RW in time for him to be considered for the head coaching openings across the league. Could he land in Toronto or Colorado? Possible….but not likely.
So, who will be the 7th coach in Sharks franchise history? Doug Wilson says that current staff Rob Zettler and Tim Hunter will get consideration, but that seems like a stretch to me. It’s quite possible those boys will be on staff until the new head coach is secured and, depending on their clout, both Zettler and Hunter could be “reassigned” within the organization. The list of candidates will make the rounds in the coming days. Pat Burns? Pat Quinn? Joel Quenneville? Bob Hartley? Dave Lewis? Paul Maurice? Larry Robinson? Dare we even say…Barry Melrose? Is it possible the Sharks will go way off the beaten path and hire a successful AHL coach? I would be suprised.
I’ve got a name for you – How about former Shark player and ex-Bruins coach, Mike Sullivan? He is a former teammate of Doug Wilson, having played in San Jose from 1991-1994 when he was claimed off waivers by the Calgary Flames. He has coached Joe Thornton in Boston and took a bum rap by GM Peter Chiarelli in the overhaul in Beantown. He took the Bruins to the playoffs in 2003-04, winning the Northeast Division title. Once Thornton got traded for that awesome package of Sturm, Stuart and Primeau – Sullivan’s team took a nose dive and the new GM wanted to start fresh, canning Sullivan in the process. After a little Google’ing, I found this collection of opinions from Boston sportswriters on Sullivan. It sounds like he was known as a players coach, has been described as “energetic and innovative” and was the type of guy in Boston who could get his boys to play hard night after night, sticking by his players and letting them play through the rough times. Sound like someone familiar? NOPE. Exactly. Mike Sullivan is everything Ron Wilson isn’t. He might not have the experience and definitely took some knocks for that in Boston, but this potential move smells of Doug Wilson. Someone unexpected and with a totally different philosophy. He has winning records as an AHL and NHL head coach, has International coaching experience as the head coach for the U.S. Men’s Team at the 2007 World Championships in Russia and was an Assistant Coach at the 2006 Olympics for the U.S.
I’d suggest keeping an eye on his name in the coming weeks. He is currently an assistant in Tampa Bay and, while there is certain to be debate, could quite possibly be the right man for the job in San Jose. He gets hired and Zettler (another former teammate and original Shark) and Hunter stay onboard to try and take this team to the next level we’ve all been waiting for. And remember…you heard it here first.
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I like your out-of-the-box thinking, but I don’t believe the Sharks need a coach who coddles his players. Was Mike Sullivan able to get good effort out of his players in Boston despite the losing? Yes. But is a player’s coach like Sullivan the right fit for a franchise that’s basically at a point of Cup or bust? No.
Certainly, one of the priorities of the new Sharks head coach will be to get a much more consistent effort from this team than we’ve seen. However, the biggest priority of the new head coach will be to elevate the play of his players – particularly his star players like Marleau and Thornton.
Marleau was very impressive in this year’s playoffs and I’m desperately hoping that he’s finally turned the corner. Thornton, on the other hand, continues to disappoint during the playoffs. The new coach will need to figure out how to squeeze every ounce of potential out of these guys. That’s the only way for the Sharks to be legitimate Cup contenders.
What about Scotty Bowman? Any chance DW could lure him out of retirement? Bowman brings credibility. Bowman brings accountability. Bowman brings championships.
It’s an interesting point, but I don’t see how a “players” coach would by definition not be able to get the things you think (and I agree) the Sharks need. If anything, RW proved that a sarcastic hardass isn’t the right guy. Perhaps the key to the equation is more carrot and less stick.
As far as Scotty Bowman goes, it’s not happening. Reportedly Toronto offered him a coaching job before they hired Paul Maurice, and he didn’t take it becuase he wanted more control than that, I think he wanted to be the GM as well. I don’t like the idea of anyone, even Scotty Bowman, doing both jobs. There’s not not enough hours in the day to do them both well.
My money’s on Paul Maurice. He’s got the Cup appearance with a group that had lesser talent than the current roster.
…they’ll pluck Dave Lewis from the high-flying Kings for the same reason.
I’m basing my opinion of Mike Sullivan on the aforementioned Boston sportswriters’ opinions. They make him sound like a guy who’d be great to grab a pint with, but not exactly the strongest head coach.
“Sullivan is a fine human being, a guy you’d want for a brother-in-law or next-door neighbor.”
“Could he do things better, such as how he manages timeouts? Sure”
“Sullivan, in his first head coaching gig, rarely cut back a player’s ice time during a game, even if that player clearly wasn’t willing to bring total effort. Good guy, Sullivan. Honest. Straightforward. But the best in the biz (examples: Al Arbour and Scotty Bowman) were never shy about telling even their best players to take a seat. He’ll have to develop that edge if he is ever truly going to gain his players’ attention and respect.”
I think the Sharks need a hardass sans sarcasm.
By the way, wasn’t Bowman the GM and head coach of those championship Penguins teams?
When can we fire section 209?
They are a poor act who has not improved in years.
Get Sharkie a duck whistle for the Anaheim games and let’s just wall off the “never-was-beens” in 209. Please?
fire section 209? why that’s just sacreligious or something!! however, i would suggest a better time for the “hey ____, YOU SUCK!” shout-out. every game, the poor person singing the national anthem thinks the “YOU SUCK” is being directed at them.
I bet nobody thought it would be McClellan.