The Chicago Bulls made the change and benefitted. So did the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. But the San Diego Chargers made a switch and did not.
Then there were the Pittsburgh Steelers. Saddled with a reputation for not winning the big one under Bill Cowher, they opted for continuity. Eventually, they also hoisted the Lombardi Trophy.
Recommended Stories
If the Capitals keep Bruce Boudreau or fire him, there’s no guarantee their fortunes will be any different.
The San Jose Sharks have endured a similar path as the Capitals. They fired coach Ron Wilson in 2008 after three straight second-round defeats. They, too, have a stud in Joe Thornton and wanted to capitalize. Since then, they’ve lost in the first round, the conference finals and are about to advance to that round again.
The Buccaneers tired of Tony Dungy’s lack of playoff success as he compiled a 2-4 postseason mark in six seasons. They fired him. They hired Jon Gruden. They won a Super Bowl in his first year (alas, Gruden never won another playoff game for Tampa Bay).
San Diego watched Marty Schottenheimer win 35 games in three years but none in the playoffs. Then it fired him and hired Norv Turner. Yes, it sounds funny even now. Turner has won three playoff games, but the Chargers are on the decline, not the rise.
The Chicago Bulls did not want to waste the Michael Jordan era, so they canned Doug Collins and hired a first-time coach named Phil Jackson. Sort of worked out. Guessing there aren’t a lot of Zen masters in hockey, however.
