First, to address the article...If you want to make the argument for Parker to step down, four games into the season isn't the time to do it. You want to make this argument right after a season ends so you can look at the season as a whole or the last three seasons as a whole or however you want to look at it. We are talking about this only because of ONE game. A game in October. Are you kidding me? Yeah yeah every game counts but don't pretend that a Beanpot championship game means the same as a game against Holy Cross in October. Yes, they should have won the game and some of that blame comes back to the coaching staff, but there is plenty blame to go around. The defense needs to improve and for those who are going to say NiCastro and Clendening haven't developed under Parker, why have Garrett Noonan and Pat MacGregor grown as defensemen since arriving on campus? This team has to continue to grow and get more consistent through the season to go anywhere but four games into a season isn't the time to decide if it will happen or not. That is up to the coaching staff and the players. The loss at PC is bad and the team didn't show up to play the first 10 minutes but they did tie that game up by the 3rd period. You still think Parker can't motivate them to dig in and make a comeback? Even if it eventually ended in a loss.
Now let's break down one part of this article that really bothers me...
"Parker could have watched film from Providence last year, even under an old coach, or he could have watched highlights of Union College, where Nate Leaman previously coached."
So let me get this straight...you are going to sit a bunch of 20 year olds down and have them either a.) watch tape of PC under a different system or b.) watch tape of Union with completely different players than PC. Either way, it is a waste of time for everybody involved. You can't blame a loss on a failure to look at useless video.
Lastly, the fact that we have drafted NHL prospects only speaks to Parker's ability to recruit and even he has said that he tries to mix guys with high NHL potential and guys who are more likely to stick around for all four years. This isn't a drawback. BC has just as many drafted players and they have left early too. BC had forward Cam Atkinson leave last season and forward Chris Kreider will leave after this season. It has nothing to do with your ability to recruit or motivate your guys. It is pretty well noted that Jerry York will try to talk guys into staying more while Parker will give the guy an honest opinion of what he thinks is best for the player. If anything, that is a respectful thing to do. Parker isn't going to pull the "Please stay with us and go to church every Sunday" routine like York does.
Jack Parker is still a damn good hockey coach until this season proves otherwise. You can't judge a season based on four games. If you want to have this conversation, talk to me in March or not at all because if the season ends in April, I am not going to listen. Remember when the 08-09 BU Terriers lost two at home to UVM in October? Oh right no one does cause they had 4 losses the remainder of the season and 35 wins. That probably won't happen this year but a couple wins this weekend should shutup the haters for the time being. If you don't think the team is going to come out flying after being doubted all week, then there's something wrong up in your brain. GO BU! Fuck the Parker haters.
I understand that you're upset by the idea of Parker leaving (I think everyone is) but here are a few things to keep in mind:
ReplyDeleteNo matter how many times he said otherwise, you and everyone else who read this article seem to think that he has come to this conclusion based on just the Holy Cross game, or even the four games this season. That is simply not true. I don't think that even you could disagree that this team has been underperforming since the Championship- we are going on three years now. That is plenty of time to evaluate a coach. When prestigious, talented teams struggle, the coaching is questioned (for better or for worse). An intelligent fan of any sport would be familiar with this formula.
I also understand, agree with, and respect the fact that Parker has earned the right through decades of hard work, dedication, and success to step down whenever he wants. A lot of people read this article and heard "fire him now." I don't believe that was the author's intent- he just thinks that it is time for Parker to step down himself at the END of the season, IF the team's struggles continue.
Your use of the PC game as an example of good motivational skills rather than poor ones is laughable, so I'll just leave it at that. I also don't think it would have been such a bad idea to watch some film of Leaman's previous team... are you suggesting that "a bunch of 20 year olds" are too immature to do so? At the very least, Parker did not need to announce this fact to the media.
I don't want to come off as a "Parker hater" (because I'm not one), I just don't think you've given this columnist enough credit. It takes a lot of guts to write an article like that with your name and picture on it, Mr. Quackquack, and not everything he said was as ridiculous as you made it sound.
First off, my name is all over this blog and over the USCHO boards where I post regularly and if the author looked at these boards, could have made a much more viable argument for his case. There are plenty of people calling for Parker to step down there with much stronger arguments. I'll take your argument one by one though.
ReplyDeleteFirst, if he didn't come to this conclusion after the Holy Cross game why run the story now? Run it after last season or before the games start this season. If it is run in the offseason, there wouldn't have been nearly as much negative backlash IMO. Three years isn't a long enough period of time to evaluate a coach that has been in a program 39 years as a head coach. If he wanted to make a more legitimate case, he should have dated back to 2000. I still wouldn't have agreed with it but I would have respected his opinion more.
Second, Jack Parker has earned the right to step down you are right but you don't know how this season will turn out. You are assumming it will turn out like the last two. What if the team makes the Frozen Four? 2 Frozen Fours in the last 4 years and he should step down? This article seems immature to say the least. It has too many "ifs" and "buts". "If BU misses the tournament again this year". That's a pretty big if for the #13 team in the country four games into a season. My point is the timing for this article hurts his argument.
Third, if you think you or the author have more X and O's knowledge than Jack Parker then you're dumber than I thought. Parker knows he has the guys that if they just play their game and impose their will, it won't matter what PC does. There would be no tape as Leaman could easily adjust the system he ran at Union due to a different roster than at PC. Then the team is caught off guard after looking at tape of a different system. That is all.
Good Job Quack quack at breaking it all down. These discussions will be forgetten when BU crushes the Minutemen twice this weekend!
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