The Winnipeg Jets have hired assistant coach Dave Lowry. Could he or someone else in the organization eventually be the successor to Paul Maurice?
To be very clear, Winnipeg Jets head coach Paul Maurice is not on the hot seat in terms of his job security. He was given a three-year contract extension which he absolutely deserved. Given challenges he had to manage last season – a substandard defense, surprise departure of Dustin Byfuglien – I contend that he did very well getting the team to at least qualify for the play-in round of the playoffs.
However, as all sports fans know, Paul Maurice will eventually be replaced by another coach. That is the life as a professional coach. Given the Winnipeg Jets recent hiring of Dave Lowry as an assistant coach, and an article from Mike McIntyre of the Winnipeg Free Press about well-regarded Manitoba Moose head coach Pascal Vincent, one must wonder if on some level general manager Kevin Cheveldayoff is thinking about succession planning.
Grooming your assistant coaches and/or minor league coaches to take over a head coaching role makes sense. They know the culture, the team, but can tweak it with fresh ideas. We have seen this work in the NHL and other pro sports. The Toronto Raptors won an NBA championship the first year after hiring their own assistant coach Nick Nurse.
This of course was an exceptionally rare result. Nick Nurse took over for Dwane Casey, who was popular, great with the media and had a successful record. However, there were reports that some players had “tuned out”, and Nurse was well regarded amongst players as a motivator and strategist. There are some similarities between that situation and the current Winnipeg Jets coaching situation.
To reiterate, I do support Paul Maurice as head coach of the Winnipeg Jets, but know that results matter. A playoff miss this coming season, or a resurgence of locker room dissension rumors, and the rumblings to replace Paul Maurice will start.
I hope that when the Winnipeg Jets eventually replace Paul Maurice that they at least consider promising in-house candidates like Dave Lowry and Pascal Vincent, rather than recycled old-guard type coaches like Ken Hitchcock, Jacques Martin, and Marc Crawford who’s glory days were when Chumbawamba were topping the music charts.
Winnipeg Jets Fans: What are your thoughts on these or other candidates eventually taking over as head coach? Leave your comments below!