When the Coaches Get Fired?

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Overall, a team is a reflection of its direct leadership. This is a principle that applies in all organizations, and likely most poignant in the world of sports.

People who know me understand that I’m a big hockey fan. Although I briefly worked for the Los Angeles Kings, my hometown team is the Edmonton Oilers. I enjoyed watching the great 80’s championship Oiler teams, populated by hall of fame players with names like Gretzky, Messier, Coffey, and many more. Recently, new stars like Connor McDavid, Leon Draisaitl, and others have raised championship hopes amongst Oiler fans. However, after a disappointing start to the season, the Oilers executives fired the head coach and his assistants. This makes 11 different head coaches in the last 16 seasons, and the fifth coach in eight years and 13 games for the current leadership group. Wow!

When an organization experiences this kind of leadership turnover, it's an indication that something is deeply wrong in two key areas: The top of the house (ownership and exec leadership), and at the team level. The coaching community is the scapegoat for poor culture/decisions at the very top, and for lack of self-accountability within the team level. Sometimes a core group of players unwittingly become toxic because they feel untouchable and entitled. Rather than looking in the mirror, their sense of being bulletproof invites these players to act as victims. They are all multi-millionaires which adds to the complexity. Most of the stars have “FU” money.

In this case, two challenging things need to happen: 1. The top of the house needs a cultural reset. The organization likely has lost clarity on purpose, values and more. The players and team have lost their identity and sense of what defines performance 2. The “untouchable core” player cabal needs to be broken apart for a reset at the front line. In this case, players who felt that they are untouchable need to be traded or move out. I don’t know who they are in this case, but they consider themselves as not part of the performance problem. The stories and behavior in the locker room needs a reboot.

This may sound harsh. However, changing out middle management, (the coaching staff in this case), on a revolving basis is looking at the situation too narrowly. Overall, the organization is facing a systemic issue. Currently, the Oilers have arguably two of the worlds best hockey players, however it will very likely prove to be insufficient. Winning requires ALL team members to be in sync. A team can’t win a championship with just a couple of stars. Continued mediocrity will continue because some of the surrounding top core does not have the will or capability, even though their overblown paychecks suggest otherwise. Sad and unfortunately predictable. To be great, an organization has to have a superb culture and execution with everyone aligned from the very top through every other part of the organization. That’s why it’s so hard.

Think Big, Start Small, Act Now,

- Lorne

One Millennial View: Imagine being the very best at something since a young age, and then trying to wrangle that ego. You can sympathize that this must be an intensely challenging task, however when you get to a level like pro hockey, that’s what has to be somehow achieved. We all probably think we’re pretty great (not perfect) at our jobs, however there’s always room for improvement, and we have to try to keep that ego in check, and humbly work with our teammates if we actually want to make progress, or we’ll get cross checked off the roster before we know it.

- Garrett

Edited and published by Garrett Rubis

When the Coaches Get Fired?

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