Do you think its a good idea for one person to be both a head coach and general manager?

Question

Its not the norm but in the NHL its not unusual either. A couple of related Qs: Do other sports do this? Whats the most successful hockey team that had the same person as a coach and GM?

Answer 1

Yes only if that person is very good at what he or she is doing.

Answer 2

If it works, it works great.  The GM has a lot of responsibilities, and much of that is building the rosters.  The coach needs to believe in the same roster for it to work.  Obviously if it's the same person, then that's one less obstacle.

The most obvious example I can think of where this worked well is Glen Sather with the Oilers of the 1980's.  He won 4 Stanley Cups as both GM and coach, and a 5th as GM only.

Answer 3

I tend to disagree when most NHL clubs do this because I think the two roles are very distinguished.

While a GM handles business, a coach's job requires emotion and if you give somebody with emotion the ability to make business decisions, that could backfire.

One example I use is in Florida with Jacques Martin. A while ago he was relieved of coaching duties but as he held them about three years prior, the feud between him and Oli Jokinen was a big deal in the media and in the dressing room. Oli is one of the most skilled players in the league but a personal discrepancy between the two of them may entice Martin to deal the Finnish star simply because of a disagreement in game philosophy.

My last example is Patt Quinn. When he held both roles in Toronto, the bond he developed with his players on the ice carried over into the boardroom. Most people blame John Ferguson Jr. for current Bud roster woes, but the roots can be tied back to Quinn who also made some questionable roster movements in his tenure (ie, Doug Gilmour pt 2., Ron Francis)

Answer 4

nope. it's not how to run a sports team.

hockey's the only one that has this happen to them more often than not. i don't see it in most of the other sports i like. there's a specific balance needed to be both and i guess it works mostly well in hockey. i don't know why