What is a more secure job NHL head coach or NBA head coach. NHL and NBA coaches have no paitence what so ever when it comes to their head coaches.

HYDE: You're confused? Pity poor Cohen

Published May 25, 2004

 

 

Alan Cohen is a wacko. He has no clue. I just want to write those two sentences for the record, up high in this column, because when addressing the Panthers owner's latest and looniest move, sentences threaten to melt into unfinished spasms like: Huh? What the ...? Why then ... ?

 

He let him go?

 

And is bringing him back?

 

Here hockey is, at the Stanley Cup Finals, with Rick Dudley being praised from Newfoundland to Moose Jaw for work he had done in building Tampa Bay into the Eastern Conference champion. And here, at the bottom of the state, Cohen is making his bottom-feeding franchise about everything except hockey again.

 

It's about the screwball owner again. About his wandering mind again. About his impatient ways. About how he runs a pro franchise like any "First Time Long Time" patron to a radio show.

 

"Hi, this is Alan from Broward, and wouldn't it be cool if ..."

 

How else to explain why nearly two months after the Panthers season -- and a month before the draft -- he decided it was time to fire Dudley as general manager? That's right, the guy Cohen just gave a contract extension in February.

 

Or to explain that the man replacing Dudley is the guy Cohen fired in November? That's right, "Iron Mike" Keenan is back. Is he now "Boomerang Mike"?

 

It's enough to make you confused, befuddled, frustrated, angry, amused, entertained and falling-to-the-ground-in-howls-of- laughter -- all at the same time. You certainly have a right to be any or all of the above, if you're a Panthers fan.

 

Of course, if you're a Dolphins fan you should feel downright relieved, because you now have a franchise that looks like a bigger carnival than yours. All that's missing to top off this frozen-over nonsense is to have a Panthers star to act like Cheech to Ricky Williams' Chong.

 

This isn't to say Dudley's blueprint worked here like it did in Tampa Bay. It just wasn't finished. It was stopped in mid-freeze. For the past two seasons, he brought in kids like Jay Bouwmeester, Nathan Horton and Anthony Stewart while Cohen begged fans to buy a build-with-youth philosophy while doing nothing else.

 

The owner refused to spend the $10 million that went out the door with Pavel Bure, allegedly because it might interrupt this youthful plan. He took the payroll down to a microscopic $20 million, allegedly to accelerate this up-with-kids ideal.

 

But Monday's move changes all that. The blueprint changes again. This way becomes some other way. This is nothing against Keenan or Jacques Martin, a highly respected coach who takes over the Panthers. But seriously. How many times can the Panthers change plans before everyone gets nauseated?

 

Give it to Keenan. The man is a survivor. It's a wonder he didn't end up on TV beside Donald Trump. Cohen fired him over Dudley in November. The owner also could have hired Keenan as GM a couple of years ago, but just did as coach. Both jobs were open then.

 

So the question becomes: What exactly does Cohen see now in Keenan that he didn't see then? Or see then that he doesn't see now?

 

It was an original failure by Cohen or a current failure to do so, but the bottom line is it's a failure no matter how you look at this move. Either he wasted a couple of seasons by not naming Keenan as GM to begin with. Or he's wasting a couple more by hiring him now and firing Dudley in mid-plan.

 

No matter how you walk around it, Monday was an embarrassment for the Panthers. It was an embarrassment for its fans. It was an embarrassment for its players. What's more, it was another embarrassment for a franchise looking for a way out.

 

It's enough to make you cry, if you actually care enough about the Panthers anymore. There was a time, believe it or not, when they were the best-run team in South Florida. That was 1996, and it might as well be 1896 today.

 

Cohen has looked a bizarre-o for a while. He once sent an e-mail to the media threatening retribution for a big loss to Washington -- which made hockey people roll their eyes. He stepped into the draft last spring and demanded the Panthers draft an ineligible player -- which again made hockey people roll their eyes.

 

But his biggest problem is he's too much a fan. His heart trumps his head. He can't stick with a plan. That makes the Panthers the worst combination in sports: A small-market team run by a small-minded owner who changes directions like the dial on his radio.

 

A few months ago, Dudley was in and Keenan was out. Now Keenan is in and Dudley is out. And a few months from now, when things don't looks so good, don't be surprised to hear, "Hi, this is Alan from Broward, and wouldn't it be neat-o if the Panthers ...''

Copyright ? 2004, South Florida Sun-Sentinel

as far as Keenan is concerned, I am not a big fan personally, so his coming as the new GM I'm not crazy about....

 

& really makes Alan Cohen look like a moron. I mean why did he fire Keenan in the first place? Why not just can Dudley back then & keep Keenan around?

 

To make things worse, Cohen basically handcuffed Dudley by not allowing the Bure money to be spent on acquiring some good veteran players. Despite that, Dudley still improved the team slightly each year.

 

Rumor has it now that Cohen didn't think Dudley was really trying to bring Jacque Martin in, & wanted to keep his guy Torchetti as coach. Plus Martin apparently made it clear that he would coach here if Keenan was GM.

 

If that's the case... well I wouldn't pass up the chance to get Martin as coach here, he's had terrific success lately.

 

I don't think Dudley was given a fair shot here though.