Heavy is the hand that holds the clipboard.
Whether they’re on the sideline of the gridiron or rinkside, professional head coaches know their stretch of leadership may amount to little more than a bullet point on a franchise’s Wikipedia page. There are simply more Rick Pitinos than Erik Spoelstras in the big four leagues.
“I don’t think anyone in coaching ever thought it was certain,” Celtics president of basketball operations and former head coach Brad Stevens said during his annual end of the year press conference this week. “I think uncertainty is what you sign up for, in some ways. But there’s so many things that go into winning and losing.”
“Every year, good coaches get let go,” he added. “And they’re way better than everybody talks about. I’m just telling you, because I’ve coached against them. They’re way better than everybody thinks or knows.”
As the Boston Bruins made news extending general manager Don Sweeney during their search for a new head coach, it felt like a good time to figure out just how long the average coaching tenure is in each professional league. Did the Bruins move on from Jim Montgomery more quickly than most hockey clubs? How unusual is the Patriots’ three coaches in three seasons? There are a lot of assumptions about job security – or lack thereof – in the different leagues, but here’s how today’s numbers actually worked out, and where Boston coaches fit:
NHL average: 1.79 years
Vacant
The NHL acronym could also stand for “Not Here Long,” because that’s the fate of most hockey coaches. Tampa Bay’s Jon Cooper is the exception here. He’s the league’s longest tenured coach, having been hired in 2013.
Taking the average into account, the Bruins’ dismissal of Montgomery after 2.3 seasons looks par for the course.
It’s worth noting that the Bruins had one head coach – Claude Julien – who lasted a decade in this century.
NBA average: 3 years
Joe Mazzulla: 2.5 (.5 year interim)
The NBA is obviously a star-driven league, and for that reason, it can get a bad reputation for All-Stars sending overmatched coaches packing. The truth is, the NBA is about average with the other two leagues, and before Greg Popovich’s recent retirement after 29 years, the average tenure was 3.8 years. There are plenty of one-and-done coaches, but most guys get at least a few years to figure things out. Celtics’ coach Joe Mazzulla spent the first half of the 2022-23 season as interim head coach, following one-and-done Ime Udoka, who is two years into his head coaching gig with the Houston Rockets.
According to the Athletic’s Shams Charania, Mazzulla will enter the final year of his contract this fall. That deal reportedly included $14 million guaranteed.
MLB average: 3.1 years
Alex Cora: 4 (previous Sox tenure: 2)
Big leagues managers’ coaching arcs are all over the place. The longest-tenured coach is Tampa Bay’s Kevin Cash, who took the position with the Rays in December 2014. The Red Sox are in a peculiar situation because of Cora’s one-year MLB suspension, so he’s only counted here for his second stint, which started in 2021. But Cora just got a three-year extension last summer. If he manages through that contract, he’ll join the ranks of Brian Snitker and Torey Lovullo in leading as skipper the better part of a decade.
NFL average: 3.8 years
Mike Vrabel: 0 (previous post: 6)
Is it a shock to anyone else that the “Not For Long” league gives coaches the most time, on average, to keep their jobs? This number is certainly boosted by the reigns of Mike Tomlin’s 18 years with the Steelers, and John Harbaugh’s 17 years with the Ravens, but there are plenty of five-to-eight-year veteran coaches leading OTAs this Spring. The Patriots set the standard for the league during Belichick’s 24-year epic era, but they dropped first-timer Jerod Mayo after one 4-13 season, and now hope for better with Mike Vrabel, who previously coached six years for the Tennessee Titans.