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Tortorella Gets Himself Fired as Flyers Head Coach
John Tortorella has been fired as head coach of the Philadelphia Flyers. This follows comments he made about the state of the team.
Daily Faceoff’s Frank Seravalli asked on Thursday, “Has another coach ever fired himself before?” If not, history was made in the NHL as the Philadelphia Flyers fired head coach John Tortorella just hours after he said publicly, “I’m not really interested in learning how to coach in this type of season, where we’re at right now.”
Seravalli added, “That is one for the books. He had one year left at ~$4 million.”
The Flyers and GM Daniel Briere released a statement saying: “The Flyers have relieved John Tortorella of his duties as head coach. Philadelphia Flyers Associate Coach, Brad Shaw, has been named interim head coach and will assume duties immediately.”
Briere called it a difficult decision, but was it? It’s not like Tortorella gave the organization much choice. He said he wasn’t interested in coaching this team, and it’s not as though this team would have remained interested in playing for Tortorella.
Related: John Tortorella Fed Up With Flyers, Time in Philadelphia Ending?
The Flyers Took the High Road… But Shouldn’t Have
Tortorella’s history is well documented. He’s among the most polarizing coaches in league history. His most recent comments about the Flyers are the latest in a long line of questionable tactics he’s employed as an NHL bench boss. But telling the media he’s got no interest in coaching a team in the Flyers’ position is inexcusable. Still, the Flyers took the high road.
“On behalf of the entire Flyers organization, we would like to thank John for his dedication over the past three seasons,” said Flyers Governor Dan Hilferty and President of Hockey Operations Keith Jones. This can’t possibly be true. If there’s one thing Tortorella’s comments proved, it’s that he wasn’t dedicated.
He was hired to see this team through the rough patches and get them to a better place despite the inevitable speed bumps. Instead, he bailed and decided to tell everyone.
Any team looking for a coach and considering Tortorella should look long and hard at what just happened with the Flyers. It will be one of the more shameful ways to leave the NHL as a coach, but it’s exactly how Tortorella’s career should end. The Flyers should have cited his comments as the exact reason he was let go and made it clear that those types of comments are not acceptable, whether from a player or a coach. Anyone who doesn’t want to be a Flyer shouldn’t be.
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