The Boston Bruins will not begin a coaching search until they know what they have in interim bench manager.
Despite only 41 regulation defeats in just over two seasons as the Boston Bruins’ head coach, Jim Mongomery was fired due to a poor start to 2024-25. With an 8-9-3 record after 20 games, including some harsh losses in recent games, the Bruins felt it was time to take a different route.
The Bruins sacked Montgomery and replaced him with associate coach Jim Sacco, who was given the interim title. Sacco will most certainly conclude the 2024-25 season as interim head coach, but he will be first in line when the Bruins begin their search for a permanent replacement for Montgomery.
According to TSN’s Pierre LeBrun, the Bruins will most likely not call other candidates before giving Sacco a fair chance.
“The Bruins will give him a real look before reaching out to any other candidates,” LeBrun said on Twitter. “My understanding is that there will be no coaching search at this time. Sacco is well-liked and respected within the organization, and he gets the first pass at it.
Sacco formerly coached the Colorado Avalanche for four full seasons. Sacco has a 130-134-30 career coaching record with the Avalanche after 294 games.
During his career in Colorado, Sacco took the Avalanche to the Stanley Cup Playoffs only once in 2009-10. The Avalanche lose in six games to the San Jose Sharks in the first round.
The Bruins have a strong belief in Sacco and have most likely been planning to grant him this promotion for some time. Sacco started as an assistant at Boston in 2014 and was recently upgraded to associate coach.
According to Mike Grinnell of the Spittin’ Chiclets Podcast, the promotion came with the caveat that Montgomery was on a short leash.
Montgomery entered the 2024-25 season in the penultimate year of his contract, looking to impress behind the bench. In 184 games with the Red Sox, he went 120-41-23, but he only won one playoff series.
Sacco will take the first shot at the head coaching job in Boston before an official search begins. His interim period will essentially serve as a test drive. If the Bruins like what they see, they won’t bother calling. If things continue to deteriorate, there will undoubtedly be a large number of people who receive calls from the Boston area code.
