A bizarre story unfolded out of the OHL this past weekend, when the Flint Firebirds decided to make some serious changes to their coaching staff following a big come-from-behind win over the Oshawa Generals on Sunday. Immediately after the victory, the team’s head coach, John Gruden (no, not that Jon Gruden), and his entire staff were fired unexpectedly.
The reason for the boot? The Firebirds’ owner was unhappy with the amount of playing time the coach was giving his son, 17-year-old defenseman Håkon Nilsen. If you’re thinking that such reasoning is a terrible justification for firing an entire coaching staff, the entire Firebirds team seems to agree with you. They all walked out in a show of solidarity immediately after the firing came down.
Just heard Flint Firebirds come from behind against defending memorial cup champions, Oshawa tonight. Down 3-1. Come back & win 4-3 in OT…
— BucciOT.Com (@Buccigross) November 9, 2015
..Coaches fired immediately after game. Entire team, all 24 Guys storm upstairs to front office, throw jersey on ground, quit and walk out
— BucciOT.Com (@Buccigross) November 9, 2015
Comment from a #Firebirds player: "The whole team went up to the managments office and said f*** this" #OHL
— OHLInsiders (@OHLinsiders) November 9, 2015
Another source: "such a show of solidarity when the boys bonded together and walked out. Even his (owner's) son quit." #Flint
— BucciOT.Com (@Buccigross) November 9, 2015
That’s right, even the owner’s son visited his pops’ office, tossed his jersey on the ground and told him to go screw. That’s a storyline you’d only expect to hear about in a dramatic sports movie. When it happens in real life, that’s a pretty good sign that you’ve probably done something really stupid as an owner.
On Monday morning, Nilsen’s son was reportedly traded.
#OHL Hokan Nilsen is done with the Firebirds. Rumoured to be a done trade. Waiting to confirm
— OHLInsiders (@OHLinsiders) November 9, 2015
Hopefully that will be the first step in getting past this incredible debacle. This is obviously not great press for the Firebirds, who just began playing in the OHL this season. They’ve got some talented players on their roster — including players looking to raise their NHL Draft stock — so hopefully this mess will get sorted out sooner rather than later.
Update: Nilsen and the Firebirds have released a statement about the incident.
Dear Fans, here is a statement from our owner. Thank you for your continued support. pic.twitter.com/kLXh77X60W
— Flint Firebirds (@FlintFirebirds) November 9, 2015
(Via Sportsnet)
