BU 2021-22: Albie's Great Adventure

[J.D.]

If BU is/was serious about Hastings/Lang then it's safe to say Pandolfo was not first choice. Particularly Hastings. That is clearly option #1. So it depends if BU is still working on Hastings. If you do go with someone else, then what happens to Pandolfo? Is he "forced" on the new coach?

[ericredaxe]

Is it being reported about or surmised? I didn't see if Mastro has landed anywhere else yet... Losing a couple of guys right after the season and coaching non-renewal isn't a big deal (pretty standard stuff nowadays). I suppose when the new coach is named, there could be another couple of losses (hopefully good losses) and then a handful of additions (likely via the portal). I think the delay is hurting us, not helping.

Just going on the Jeff Cox article. No idea how accurate but he certainly wrote it as if he was pretty confident.

Agree about the guys who left not being unexpected and the delay (whatever the reason) not being ideal.

[brassbonanza]

If Jay was locked in to be BU's head coach and BU was locked into him being the head coach, don't ya think we'd know by now?

No. And your comments on HR being a technicality are not completely accurate. Explained here:

I'll add some complete speculation on my part - if you read BU's press release when they announced Albie was gone, they do not mention he was terminated, relieved of his duties, or otherwise insinuate that the move was effective immediately. Instead, it says he will "not return next season" and he "will be replaced." Could this imply they are letting his contract expire? If so, it's possible HR will not let BU formally hire a new coach until that's done. I'd also imagine there's language in Albie's contract that would trigger some form of payment or risk breach of contract if BU separately named a head coach while Albie was still technically under contract.

I have no information on whether anything above is true, but would explain the complete silence. You have to think if they were actively interviewing multiple other candidates, especially those outside "the family" that somebody would've seen someone on campus or leaked something to the media. I had multiple friends tell me when they saw Rick Bennett on campus in 2018. Again, not impossible.

Since posting this, I believe this to be the more likely scenario. I separately was able to confirm Albie is still in BU's employee directory listed as the head coach as of the past week or two. It's also likely that his contract ends April 30 and BU is waiting for it to expire. This would prevent them from "firing" him and they would not owe severance or a buyout.

Michigan is doing the same thing with Pearson - except since they're a public school, you can FOIA his contract (which someone did) and it expires April 30.

I don't believe this means either of Jay or Hastings are more likely, just that most likely they aren't announcing anything because there's still technically another head coach employed by BU.

[mookie1995]

If Stanley Cup wins as a coach are a requirement for the job you are going to have a pretty short list of potential candidates.

(Insert roll eyes emoji here)

mookie didn't throw out the "win everywhere" comment. is going 16-15-0 'winning'? is eric-ra now one of those guys mav feels are happy with a beanpot everywhere and nothing else? tragic.....:-(

[Terrier86]

No. And your comments on HR being a technicality are not completely accurate. Explained here:



Since posting this, I believe this to be the more likely scenario. I separately was able to confirm Albie is still in BU's employee directory listed as the head coach as of the past week or two. It's also likely that his contract ends April 30 and BU is waiting for it to expire. This would prevent them from "firing" him and they would not owe severance or a buyout.

Michigan is doing the same thing with Pearson - except since they're a public school, you can FOIA his contract (which someone did) and it expires April 30.

I don't believe this means either of Jay or Hastings are more likely, just that most likely they aren't announcing anything because there's still technically another head coach employed by BU.

IF this is all true, then I think the University/AD is botching this up. What is the motivation? To save a few bucks within a massive University operating budget? To save face publicly for the employee and/or the University? It all just seems so cheap or milk toast. Let's grow up and put on the big boy pants. We hired a guy that wasn't cut out for the job. It happens all the time. So, move on with deciveness and be professional about it. This makes the University and the employee look weak; a lose-lose.

IF Jay is going to get the job on May 1st, I think we'd have heard through the grapevine by now as recruits would have to have been told it's his job on that date and word would have slipped out as in this day and age nothing stays secret more than a couple days.

Any way this goes down, makes me feel as though the University/AD has already shown a softness and/or an incompetence on how to manage their affairs. I think they should go take some of their own business management classes.

[ericredaxe]

mookie didn't throw out the "win everywhere" comment. is going 16-15-0 'winning'? is eric-ra now one of those guys mav feels are happy with a beanpot everywhere and nothing else? tragic.....:-(

??? Who went 16-15?

if BU’s next 4 seasons mirrored the Bruins previous 4 with 3 NCAA 1st round wins and an appearance in the NCAA championship game I’d bet most of us would think they are back on track.

[brassbonanza]

IF this is all true, then I think the University/AD is botching this up. What is the motivation? To save a few bucks within a massive University operating budget? To save face publicly for the employee and/or the University? It all just seems so cheap or milk toast. Let's grow up and put on the big boy pants. We hired a guy that wasn't cut out for the job. It happens all the time. So, move on with deciveness and be professional about it. This makes the University and the employee look weak; a lose-lose.

IF Jay is going to get the job on May 1st, I think we'd have heard through the grapevine by now as recruits would have to have been told it's his job on that date and word would have slipped out as in this day and age nothing stays secret more than a couple days.

Any way this goes down, makes me feel as though the University/AD has already shown a softness and/or an incompetence on how to manage their affairs. I think they should go take some of their own business management classes.

I'm not saying I agree with their process - in fact, I agree with your position that it's cheap and stupid if they went down this road. But I do believe that's what happened.

[Terrier86]

I'm not saying I agree with their process - in fact, I agree with your position that it's cheap and stupid if they went down this road. But I do believe that's what happened.

Fingers crossed for a great outcome

[brassbonanza]

?????
how many cups did the bruins win while Jay bird was asst coach?

The Bruins made the playoffs every year he was an assistant, advanced every year but one, and got within a game of winning it once.

Jay's name is on the Cup twice and he hung a banner for us.

I'm not concerned about his ability to win.

This is before we consider how strongly the Bruins' young players developed while he was there.

There is a learning curve to being a head coach at the second highest level. And what about his personality says "leader" to you? I just don't see it. Great guy. Great Terrier. Solid pro. I just can't get excited about him learning how to run a hockey team on our dime. I just don't see him bringing the program back to the 90's salad days. (Which is what we should all want.)

What meaningful information do you have about his personality? Watching him behind the bench for one season as an associate HC? Nonsense.

His lack of HC experience is a definite concern and something that the AD should strongly evaluate in an interview and in making the decision.

His personality behind the bench as an assistant is of no concern to me. By all accounts, he commands respect and is a fierce competitor. This is where the two Cups and a NC banner are an asset. I don't suspect our players would be walking around calling him by his first name in public - as was the case under Albie.

[Harry Cleverly]

BU can announce that Albie will not return as coach, meaning that his contract will not be extended and allowed to expire.

They can certainly appoint a new head coach anytime that they want. Their obligation to pay Albie until his contract expires does not preclude them from naming his replacement.
I seriously doubt any delay is to save a couple of weeks of hockey coach salary.

Hopefully the timing has to do with Marrochello doing due diligence on prospective candidates, and talking with whomever he wants at the convention in Naples.

[hydrant]

Read that Hastings's son attends Northeastern. So the move out east does not sounds that crazy.

[J.D.]

Read that Hastings's son attends Northeastern. So the move out east does not sounds that crazy.

The suspense as BC/BU take their time is killing me. If both BU/MSU are in on Hastings that's probably the first domino. We'll see if he stays put.

[Harry Cleverly]

If BU is/was serious about Hastings/Lang then it's safe to say Pandolfo was not first choice. Particularly Hastings. That is clearly option #1. So it depends if BU is still working on Hastings. If you do go with someone else, then what happens to Pandolfo? Is he "forced" on the new coach?

It is called due diligence. Whether Pandolfo was the favorite at the start, or not.

[RefereeGrav]

It is called due diligence. Whether Pandolfo was the favorite at the start, or not.

It’s been 50 days since the end of the season and still no hire. At what point does “due diligence” turn into incompetence on the admin side?

[J.D.]

It’s been 50 days since the end of the season and still no hire. At what point does “due diligence” turn into incompetence on the admin side?

I'm not sure why he even quoted me to say that but all I was saying was if BU is in on Hastings he would clearly be option #1. So if Michigan State is also courting Hastings it would make sense to wait it out and see what happens knowing you apparently have Pandolfo in your pocket. Unfortunately there is very little to no reporting out there on any of this. Michigan, Michigan State, BC, BU...can we get some reporting? But then what if Michigan wants to make a run at Hastings? He would be the first domino to fall in all of this. And then nobody really knows if he's even considering leaving Minnesota State.