The Pipeline Show has learned that the Springfield Falcons will have a new face behind their bench this year as Rob Daum will not reprise his role with the AHL team. The Columbus Blue Jackets have not yet announced who their new bench boss will be as they take over the affiliation with Springfield but we're told that it will not be Daum who held the position for the last season and a half under the Oilers partnership.UPDATE (10:59 AM): The Columbus Blue Jackets have just announced the appointment of Bob Riley to the job. Riley was a longtime coach at Army in the NCAA ranks and has been an area scout for the Blue Jackets for the past 4 years.
Daum has coached at the WHL, CIS, AHL and NHL levels and has been successful at each stop along the way. Every player that we have spoken with has raved about Daum and his contribution to their development including the last few years on teams that struggled for various reasons.
He's an excellent coach that deserves an opportunity somewhere and if not for such a late season release from the Oilers, Daum probably wouldn't be in the unenviable position that he's currently in.
7 comments:
In what way was he "successful" in the AHL? You can claim he was a good coach saddled with bad players, but the bottom line is that his record was anything but successful.
50 wins in Houston = a successful season.
Ask anyone.
I like Daum. But I do not know. It seems like the timing of Daum being let go is pretty overblown.
It seems like to me at the time he was let go. There were still a good number of AHL head coach and NHL assistant coach positions floating around out there. Probably more than some other off-seasons.
I mean a guy like Jeff Truitt got a head coaching job. When was he hired on, my memory says it was not until mid-July. Daum was in on the coaching since what the middle of June? I think Manitoba filled their head coach job after that too (though not long after).
Springfield is just now filling their head coach job. I do know much about this Bob Riley fellow. He does not have as high a level history in coaching as Daum. I do not know a lot about Riley. But he was not chosen because he was a young up and comer at age 55 (so age was not the reason) and he has not even been coaching for a number of years. But he got the job over Daum. Yet somehow (in early August!) this is spun as the Oilers fault for releasing him late. That seems more than unfair IMO. He interviewed for the job and got it or did not get it on his own merits. Nothing to do with the Oilers organization.
There were jobs out there that he could have been in on and other jobs we know he was in on. From what I hear the Oilers brought him back in to interview as one of Renney's NHL assistants. So he is getting in on a number of possible opportunities.
I realize you are friends or at the very least had a good friendly professional relationship. So you have a personal involvement in this story at some level (similar to your reactions to Prendergast, McCarthy, Mancini leaving the organization). I know it must be a handy to have an excuse when things to do not go ones way (as with Daum and the Springfield job). But it might be time to let this blame thing go.
I mean do you even know whether the Oilers were considering Daum right up to the last minute for OKC before not renewing his contract? Maybe they had a good reason for not letting him go those precious couple of weeks earlier? Maybe they wanted him for the Barons and changed their mind late in proceedings? It is hard to say, but I do know there are two sides to every story.
You are right that a 50 win season is a good one, no doubt. I suppose some might counter that by mentioning that happened 5 years ago. Then was followed up, with the same organization, by a poor season.
I liked Daum and would have had no problem with him returning as our farm head coach. I was even pulling for him to the message boards. But he is getting or not getting jobs on his merits. I wish him the best of luck, seems like a nice guy and obviously loves coaching. I hope he keeps plugging away and if he does will eventually land somewhere.
Lots of valid points in there ODH... thanks for making a compelling argument without coming across in a negative way.
Excellent contribution!
ODH,
After sleeping on it...
I still think the timing has played a major role in it. The AHL jobs that have been filled, those teams had already been well into the search for their new coaches. Even if the announcement wasn't made until after Daum was on the market, the teams had narrowed their list down to a few finalists.
It's very telling for me that Daum was a finalist for the Springfield job. Bruce Landon would have had to be on board with him as an option for Daum to get that close to the job and after the poor record the team had there that last few years, for Landon to be supportive tells me that HE felt Daum did a good job with what he had to work with.
I also question whether or not the new Oklahoma City coach is an upgrade on Daum. I don't know that he isn't but Nelson's track record (to me) isn't more impressive.
We'll have to agree to disagree.
Well we will have to agree to disagree on a number of points. Including him being on the job market too late to get in on most of the openings.
But if you are saying that these coaching searches take a large block of time. Then the Oilers seem to be pretty well with in their rights to keep a good candidate currently under contract around as long as possible. While they decide if he or other candidates are the best fit or not. That seems like a smart business move.
That is unless you feel the Oilers were just jerking him around for fun or something? As I mentioned, two sides to every story. I would love to hear the Oilers side sometime, not sure it will ever happen though.
We agree that Todd Nelson has not really done much at all to put him head and shoulders above Daum.
Just pure speculation on my part. But Nelson mentioned he had not had a lot of contact from the Oilers until a week before his hire announcement. Willie Desjardins was hired as an Assistant by Tampa a week before the Nelson appointment. It made me wonder if they were potentially courting Desjardins for the Barons head job and then were sent scrambling for options b or c.
I would say on the Daum front, something else to keep in mind. He was on the market in the past after leaving Houston looking for another AHL head coach job. He was apparently being passed over back then. But the Oil came along and gave him that chance with minimal pro experience. Due to the Oilers Rob's resume looks a lot better IMO than it did a few seasons ago. He now has some scouting type NHL experience, a more extensive and well rounded AHL head coach track record and an entry as an NHL Assistant coach. It seems to me Rob should probably be happy with what the Oilers did give him. Rather than searching for excuses on not getting jobs that were filled after he was already out in the job market.
Just my take on things. I do concede you probably have some inside info to back up your position (or at least I am hoping so). Rather than only going on a feeling that the Oilers waited what, a couple weeks too long to release Daum?
Our occasional differing views on some issues aside. I just want to say I am really grateful to you and Dean for the work you do with this blog and your radio show. Keep it up!
Jon Cooper hired today as the new Head Coach of the Norfolk Admirals of the AHL.
Does anyone have much information on this guy? All that comes on up hockeydb is that he coached two seasons in the USHL.
I guess the Oilers are not the only ones continuing to pass on an experienced AHL/NHL coach like Rob Daum for some reason. AHL jobs filled in August can not be blamed on the Oilers releasing Daum late. He has been on the job market around 2 months now. He just does not seem to be in that much demand at the moment.
It is a shame as I feel he is a good coach. But apparently a few organizations do not view him as good enough apparently to catch their interest.
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