The search to replace Mark Reeds with Greg Ireland as coach of the Ontario Hockey League Champion Owen Sound Attack was a revealing process, and that’s being said from the outside.
From the inside, I can only imagine the conversations, near and dear, that General Manager Dale DeGray went through, and while he’s admitted that it was thoroughly beneficial, I have no doubt there were chuckles and laments along the way.
Sometimes the Attack used a ” cold call ” to contact a candidate.
One guy was approached and he seemingly was more interested in becoming an OHL owner for a franchise in Cornwall.
Another prominent name approached worked into consideration, but it turned out, according to the references, that the guy was more suited for the Coach Inn than coaching the Attack.
Sometimes the Attack were contacted by the candidates.
One, with NHL experience, was vetoed in a background check based on lacking communication skills, especially with young players.
Another guy who I thought was a natural from the get go, was torpedoed by others in the information seeking process.
And a third guy in the mix, might have been the guy in Owen Sound were it not for previous transgressions he’s still trying to shed.
Bottom line, for the Attack and likely every coaching vacancy; many are called, very few are chosen.
I’m Fred Wallace