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BU 2021-22: Albie's Great Adventure

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Harry Cleverly said:
Those that don't think BU can make a coaching change in-season, I give you one name: Leon Abbott.

Abbott was fired six games into the season 1973-74 season (4-2 record at the time), which yielded a very young assistant taking over named Jack Parker.
The circumstances were different, as BU had players (Bill Buckton, Peter Marzo and Dick Decloe) who had played Canadian Jr. A, and were 'temorarily' considered professionals because they had some expenses reimbursed. Buckton and Marzo were later reinstated, and Decloe ended up playing in the 1980 Winter Olympics for Holland with full amateur status. But Coach Abbott took the fall.

Now, or ASAP, would be the ideal time for BU to make a coaching change.

The heir apparent is already on staff: Jay Pandolfo. Making him the interim coach would give BU a chance to see what difference he would make. If he turns the team around, he could be hired as the permanent coach moving forward. If it still isn't working out, the job could be opened up at the end of the season.

This is an opportunity that the BU hockey program can't afford to pass up.

I feel badly for Albie. But there has been nothing "excellent" about his adventure.
It clearly is not working.

Relieve Albie now. Promote Pandolfo to interim head coach. Promote Doug Friedman from hockey ops to full-time assistant. And get someone to help with hockey ops.
Yes, it is that simple.
Click to expand...

Bingo. As some great college hockey philosopher said "Once you suck, you're stuck".
 
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Harry Cleverly said:
Now, or ASAP, would be the ideal time for BU to make a coaching change.

The heir apparent is already on staff: Jay Pandolfo. Making him the interim coach would give BU a chance to see what difference he would make. If he turns the team around, he could be hired as the permanent coach moving forward. If it still isn't working out, the job could be opened up at the end of the season.

This is an opportunity that the BU hockey program can't afford to pass up.

I feel badly for Albie. But there has been nothing "excellent" about his adventure.
It clearly is not working.

Relieve Albie now. Promote Pandolfo to interim head coach. Promote Doug Friedman from hockey ops to full-time assistant. And get someone to help with hockey ops.
Yes, it is that simple.
Click to expand...


It makes too much sense for what you suggested to not happen...Except when the tops of the BU administration may factor into this decision...

I absolutely feel bad that things during Albie's time as head coach hasn't progressed the way most of us wanted or hoped. Looking back, the timing seemed right for him to get his opportunity to run the program after "paying his dues" at Colby/Niagara/Holy Cross/Merrimack before bigger opportunities at Northeastern and Harvard, then coming "home" to BU under DQ. When DQ left, promoting Albie seemed - at the time - the most sensible option, ensuring the best chances for a smooth transition, a large degree of continuity, stability and presumably consistent success (re: 20+ win seasons, occasional Beanpot & HE titles, regular NCAA appearances).

However, one has to ask why he wasn't considered a stronger candidate for other "lesser" head coach openings prior to 2018 -- specifically UMASS in 2016 (it's obvious they nailed that one by hiring Carvel) and Merrimack in 2018. Were there questions/potential concerns within the hockey circles and from ADs that, despite having a great reputation as a recruiter, what else could he bring to a program as a head coach?

From the outside, it seems all we heard about was his recruiting prowess, but not a lot about his role/impact in what happens on the ice - player development, in-game management. As a head coach, there's much greater responsibility/accountability for oversight of players and direct staff. In addition, there are many more commitments when it comes to managing relationships with players' parents, recruits (and their parents), agents/advisors, NHL front-office personnel, donors, school administrators, conference and NCAA admins, media, etc. It's not out of the question if trying to succeed at every aspect of what a head coach for a high-profile D1 men's hockey program has on its plate has come at the expense of the bottom line: on-ice performance.

One also has to question whether taking a step back earlier in his career to perhaps be a head coach at a D3 program and have success at that level (i.e. Norm Bazin) - could have provided even more valuable experience than being a career assistant with superior proficiency in one particular competency...
 
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This is squarely on the shoulders of the AD who should have given this unproven coach no more than a two year deal to prove himself. He took the easy way out giving him an unthinkable 4 year deal. We have no idea if Pandolfo can coach and after the carnage of the last few years having another coach learn on the job does not sound smart. The AD needs to step up and remove Albie and see if Pandolfo can coach since the next coach must be very good.
 
Do we know anything about Pandolfo as a coach? He's got the deer-in-the-headlights look mastered, but I think we should move away from that skill. And will we really learn much if he takes over now? Doesn't seem like a fair shot for Jay.
 
RoughEmUp said:
Do we know anything about Pandolfo as a coach? He's got the deer-in-the-headlights look mastered, but I think we should move away from that skill. And will we really learn much if he takes over now? Doesn't seem like a fair shot for Jay.
Click to expand...

I do think we can learn something if he takes over now. It'd be a 3-4 month opportunity to get a pulse out of this squad and turn them around.
 
The best way out of the abyss we're in:

1. Let Albie go, so he has more time to find his next job.
2. Name Jay interim head coach in order to see if he can show signs of handling the job.
3. Talk to anyone that shows interest in the job.
4. Assess the candidates and go with the candidate that can bring us back to being a national power in line with our current facilities and legacy; don't be so hamstrung by feeling that we need a former BU player. This is the way it was done a decade or more ago in college athletics but we should not limit our candidate pool in this way.
5. Ensure assistant coaches are excellent teachers and communicators (obviously this should be a strong suit of the head coach as well). This level of the staff can and should have more BU lineage and there's actually a lot of candidates that fit the bill.
6. Recruit teachable players.
7. Teach, teach, teach.
8. Repeat 6 and 7. Repeat 6 and 7.
9. Win like we used to.
 
Two things to keep in mind:
1.) We know it isn't working now, and change is necessary. The sooner, the better.
2.) We don't know if Jay Pandolfo is the answer.

Pandolfo might, or might not, be the answer.
But it would go a long way to answering that question if he were made interim coach for the rest of the season.
If he is not going to be the answer, better to find out now than to make another mistake starting with next season.
And if he is the answer, then this season might not become a total loss.
 
Harry Cleverly said:
Two things to keep in mind:
1.) We know it isn't working now, and change is necessary. The sooner, the better.
2.) We don't know if Jay Pandolfo is the answer.

Pandolfo might, or might not, be the answer.
But it would go a long way to answering that question if he were made interim coach for the rest of the season.
If he is not going to be the answer, better to find out now than to make another mistake starting with next season.
And if he is the answer, then this season might not become a total loss.
Click to expand...


Good points. As for Pandolfo as a potential head coach, I think there are assumptions that he's the solution due to his byproduct of his Bruins' coaching experience.

But like Albie prior to 2018, Pandolfo has never been a head coach at any level. Furthermore, he has relatively limited coaching experience compared to Albie (and DQ before him), and hasn't been around the college game as a coach 'til this season.
 
Again there is absolutely no historical perspective to think this current administration will remove a contracted hockey coach mid season, to the people who mentioned a similar circumstance 1/2 a century ago.. newsflash the world is a vastly more PC place. The truth of the matter is that win or lose the current administration is under little or no pressure from most alumni and board types to make this happen right now. A modern BU is a very dynamic and fluid institution with 21st century values and sees sports as an acutrement to education not vice versa. As I mentioned there isn't a healthy national contract with a major network at steak and to the best I can tell HE is generally a break even proposition at most schools some programs likely lose money...aside from us fanatics trust me nobody in the front office cares.. especially post COVID...bigger fish to fry. I agree Albie will and needs to be gone, but they will do it within the constraints of a dignified seperation calling it a mutual agreement...
 
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RossiRules said:
Again there is absolutely no historical perspective to think this current administration will remove a contracted hockey coach mid season, to the people who mentioned a similar circumstance 1/2 a century ago.. newsflash the world is a vastly more PC place. The truth of the matter is that win or lose the current administration is under little or no pressure from most alumni and board types to make this happen right now. A modern BU is a very dynamic and fluid institution with 21st century values and sees sports as an acutament to education not vice versa. As I mentioned there isn't a healthy national contract with a major network at steak and to the best I can tell HE is generally a break even proposition at most schools some programs likely lose money...aside from us fanatics trust me nobody in the front office cares.. especially post COVID...bigger fish to fry. I agree Albie will and needs to be gone, but they will do it within the constraints of a dignified seperation calling it a mutual agreement...
Click to expand...

You need to rethink the definition of "absolutely no historical perspective."

Reads like you have less faith in the BU administration than you do in Albie, whom you agree needs to be replaced.

If you are correct, then the BU administration is missing out on an excellent opportunity to give Pandolfo a run as an interim head coach to see if he might be the answer. And making a change would show that they actually do care about the university's signature athletic program.
 
Harry Cleverly said:
You need to rethink the definition of "absolutely no historical perspective."

Reads like you have less faith in the BU administration than you do in Albie, whom you agree needs to be replaced.

If you are correct, then the BU administration is missing out on an excellent opportunity to give Pandolfo a run as an interim head coach to see if he might be the answer. And making a change would show that they actually do care about the university's signature athletic program.
Click to expand...

My take is that only times Bob Brown has somewhat cared about BU's signature athletic program are:

2005 His 1st year as President, which followed the opening of Agganis Arena
2009 National Championship
2011-2012 Off-ice issues / Task Force
2013 Coach Parker's retirement / hiring of David Quinn
2015 Frozen Four
2018 Hiring David Quinn's successor. I heard Brown was the one who insisted that any candidate must have completed their degree - which eliminated Jay Pandolfo and Joe Sacco at the time. I also heard there was support within the administration to hire Rick Bennett, but Brown balked at buying out Bennett's contract at Union. I also believe Bennett also commanded quite a higher salary than Albie, which may have been another sticking point (despite DQ being one of the highest-paid head coaches in college hockey).

Bob Brown also used to attend Red Hot Hockey in its earlier iterations, but mostly to make nice with the high-monied, non-hockey donors in the NYC area, and not for anything hockey-related.

I think if a decision around retaining/moving on from the head coach was entirely up to the AD, it's probable something would have already transpired (or will occur soon).
 
I'm looking forward to watching the premiere program in Hockey East tonight! : ) ; ).

Seriously, I'm looking forward to watching a highly skilled and well coached team play the sport. Over/under on # of goals BU scores? I'm setting it at 1.5. (I've been to two games and BU has scored a grand total of one goal.)

Remember when BU beat UMass 14-0 in the Hockey East Quaterfinals? (Best of 3 series). Good times.

BU Hockey: Fall From Grace
 
Friend_of_BU_Hockey said:
Mookie's take is that only times Bob Brown has somewhat cared about BU's signature athletic program are:

2009 National Championship
2015 Frozen Four.
Click to expand...

so bobby b could skim tickets and bring high rollers.
remember that terrior loyalty point program??!? how's that working out?? that was supposed to be the basis for if you got and where for beanpot and playoffs at the garden. then regionals if you wanted and frozen fours. oh well
 
O'Brien returns to the line-up. Philips and Campolieto are out. Copeland skates with Fensore.

Cockerill-Skoog-O'Brien
Mastrosimone-Ty Amonte-Boucher
Armstrong-Zabaneh-Peterson
Kaufman-Stevens-Tr.Amonte

Vlasic-McCarthy
Fensore-Copeland
Webber-Gallagher
Doyle

Commesso
 
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