It's not very often that a Head Coach loses their job after a win. It's even more rare to see a Head Coach fired with a 79-41-13 record during their tenure, yet here we are on a brisk November day in Edmonton, hours after the Oilers announced that Jay Woodcroft has been relieved as Head Coach.
From memorable media moments and wins, to dubbing beer as "Coaching Batteries", Woodcroft is loved by Edmonton Oilers fans far and wide, but a brutal start to the season put his coaching gig in jeopardy. Through 14 games the Oilers own a 3-9-1 record, with last night's victory against the Seattle Kraken being the latest. The worst part about this record is the fact that the Oilers still haven't delivered a traditional home win to their fans in Edmonton, only winning one home game at Commonwealth Stadium in the Heritage Classic, a win against another floundering team in the Calgary Flames.
As expected, today's firings that included Assistant Coach Dave Manson, have caught massive reactions from users on X. Here's what Oilers fans and media are saying:
With Woodcroft and Manson being replaced by Kris Knoblauch and Paul Coffey, Oilers fans will once again hope that a coaching change wakes up the players to save the season. This is the fourth coaching change in four years for the Edmonton Oilers, and with Connor McDavid's former agent and coach now within the organization, the Oilers are hoping that these efforts are enough to boost McDavid and his team to another successful season.