Re: Providence - 2009-10 What is in the glass?
This is college, not the pros. To me it is all about a bad fit.
Remember when Army was first hired and someone who had worked with/followed him in the AHL came on and said "be careful what you wish for" and that PC would basically regret the hiring?
Nearly 5 seasons later and there is no doubt, as you say, he's not a good fit here.
I think the worst part is what you alluded to, and that there does not exist, or did not exist, a good relationship between him and the players. You go beyond the awful record and you'd at least hope that's there. But it wasn't and while I'm not privy to the situation now, it does not seem to have changed.
The first year Army was here, we were friendly with one of the players. When things started going wrong late in the year, I asked him about it, and while he didn't want to say too much, he did admit "the coaches pushed the panic button a little too quickly." By the time this player graduated he and others had gone to the AD to talk about how ill-suited they felt Army was to coach this program.
I think you are right -- Army came in and his team played very well until the last month of that first season. Then he benched Devin Rask and the team...I don't want to say quit...but they started playing passionless, emotionless hockey. To an observer like me, it looked very much like Army "lost" the team. They went into a freefall that culminated in that awful OT loss to Merrimack at home (remember that one?) where the Mack scored twice in the last 2 minutes to tie it and then won it in OT. And that was a game where PC was playing for home ice.
To me Army has never recovered from the very end of that first season. His teams collapse once January comes, year in and year out, displaying consistent patterns of performance. Bad record, lack of offense, bad power play, no in game adjustments -- it's a hallmark of the Army era.
I know Hokydad and others come in here and can't stand hearing this -- but I can't understand why any real PC hockey fan would give Army the benefit of the doubt.
5 seasons is a
long time in this game.
He's had his shot, he's failed, the record is embarrassing...you can blame the school all you want, and I agree with Cav, things need to change there too.
But at the same time, what good does it do to keep Army here? Cav's also right they may not have (m)any choices. But even giving Dave Berard a shot -- a guy who has had to suffer under Pooley and now Army -- would be preferable, to me, than keeping a guy who as Cav said is "damaged goods" and can't recruit -- much less COACH anyone!
There does not seem to be a good argument -- or any argument -- that can be made at this point in time, in Army's defense. He's Dead Coach Walking right about now. If he's still here over the next few years, the only way he starts turning this around is a Top 4 finish, home ice, a Quarterfinal playoff win, etc. But I can't see with him here how that's going to be in the cards.
