Coaches

[Willie Dog]

I was watching Sportscentre and the Alouettes hired Mike Sherman as head coach... why don't the Als have to hire bilingual coaches?

[CentreHice]

Dec 21, 2017 7:02:36 GMT -5 Willie Dog said:

I was watching Sportscentre and the Alouettes hired Mike Sherman as head coach... why don't the Als have to hire bilingual coaches?

I've made this argument several times. Same with the Montreal Impact, and the Expos when they were in town.

But with the Habs, the GM and Head Coach must be bilingual. We all remember the outrage when Cunneyworth was installed as interim coach in 2011-12.

Amid calls for boycotts, Molson made a public statement. "Although our main priority remains to win hockey games and to keep improving as a team, it is obvious that the ability for the head coach to express himself in both French and English will be a very important factor in the selection of the permanent head coach."

Same goes for the GM.

The pool is therefore restricted. And we're not even guaranteed to get the best of the bilingual candidates, as they seek jobs among the other 30 teams.

And so we wait for another incarnation of Pollock-Bowman. i.e. bilingual candidates who are also the cream of the crop.


Frank Selke Sr., who started the farm system; who was steering the ship when the Habs bought the Quebec Sr. League, turning it pro in order to force Béliveau to join the Canadiens; who built the 5-Cup dynasty (10 consecutive years in the Finals)...such a hockey mind wouldn't even get an interview today.

Babcock? Not a chance.

Just the way it is.

[The Habitual Fan]

Montreal should be hiring the best young bilingual hockey minds and placing them in positions such as the AHL so they can develop into future coaches and GM's. Montreal should already have 1-2 Dubas type of people in the organization learning the business side. There should be plenty of candidates in Quebec, Ontario or New Brunswick for example that are more than capable hockey minds who could fill rolls of assistant coaches, player development, or assistant managers that would be ready to fill spots when they become vacant.

It is more a media problem than with the fans and if Montreal was to hire an English only coach or GM and they won the cup the fans really wouldn't care, they would be just as happy.

[jkr]

Because of his reputation I think Babcock would get a pass but it would be important to have a bilingual GM.

He's the only anglophone I can think of that might have worked.

I do like THF's suggestion of hiring talented francophones & bringing them up through the ranks. Unfortuntely, this regime is only interested in cronyism so duds like Lefebvre and Carriere Jr. continue to be employed.

[CentreHice]

RE: the fans. That's good to hear, THF.

But there were two political groups that put a lot of pressure on Molson back in 2011-12.

Impératif Français, a nationalist group based in Gatineau, has called for a boycott of Molson products to protest the hiring, with another group, Mouvement Québec Français, adding its name to the call.

The fans could very well form their own "movement" to support Molson in the hiring of the best available candidates, making such groups ineffectual. The Habs should not be a political property, IMO.

They're competing for championships in a 31-team league and they need to play on the same level ice surface. If the best candidates are indeed bilingual--bonus.

But if it's not about to change anytime soon, your strategy sounds like the best plan.

[Polarice]

The other sport franchises don’t give a crap what the French media says or writes so the media don’t bother with them anymore. However, for some reason Molson does. As soon as they realize that all press is good press they will start making decisions based on what best for the team not the media!

[mikeg]

Honestly though, what does everyone think would happen if Molson just went out and said:

"I don't care what language my coach or GM speaks, the only language I want to hear is screams of victory, and if you have a problem with that then you can buy your own team and run it however you want." Drop the mic and walk out.

How do you argue against that? I just think this is a wholly manufactured situation by the media and the ownership has bought into like suckers. It's been a pathetic journey to watch.

[blny]

Dec 21, 2017 8:52:52 GMT -5 mikeg said:

Honestly though, what does everyone think would happen if Molson just went out and said:

"I don't care what language my coach or GM speaks, the only language I want to hear is screams of victory, and if you have a problem with that then you can buy your own team and run it however you want." Drop the mic and walk out.

How do you argue against that? I just think this is a wholly manufactured situation by the media and the ownership has bought into like suckers. It's been a pathetic journey to watch.

This team is a global brand. They HAVE to stop thinking so small. If the best interview, with the greatest resume, were a female from Nigeria who's second language is English I'm hiring her. There are plenty of anglos in Quebec that don't care. There are plenty of Francophones that don't care. The fans in the rest of Canada don't care. Fans in Russia and the rest of Europe don't care. They care about assembling the best possible minds and players. They care about winning.

The best players in the league aren't from Quebec anymore. The team doesn't limit itself to drafting Quebec-only players. Why should it limit itself in every other regard? It's antiquated and panders to the borderline bigotry displayed by a very vocal, but fringe element, of the total fan base and media.

[frozone]

When it comes to coaching, I really don't think the language factor restricts coaching quality significantly. The best coaches are typically already hired, so you're already working with a very restricted pool. It's important to strike when a Backock, Trotz, Julien or Vigneault type coach is available. So if the chances of a top tier coach becoming available is already low regardless of language, then the likeliest option for all teams is to develop the head coach through the AHL system. For the Habs, there's plenty of bilingual up and coming head coaches. There's no reason why someone like Sly should even be in this organization.

However, when it comes to the GM position, the language requirement is extremely limiting... almost crippling. Management requires much more time and seasoning and it's not like there's a bunch of bilingual up and comers. If language is so important, then hire a translator.