The Top 50 Head Coaches Continued: The Greatest Hockey Bench Jockeys (and all the coaches, so far)

 Last but least – just kidding – hockey bench jockeys. Who are the best of the best of the men pacing incessantly in that tiny area behind those sweaty Canadians, Euro-dudes, Northeastern and Minnesotan Ameros with big curved sticks in their mitted-up hands, sitting awaiting their turn to once again hit the ice and do the bidding of the pacing men in suits making nefarious plans to do harm to the opposition?

First, the Sporting News list, then the hockey jockeys:

1. John Wooden, college basketball
2. Vince Lombardi, NFL 
3. Bear Bryant, college football 
4. Phil Jackson, NBA 
5. Don Shula, NFL 
6. Red Auerbach, NBA 
7. Scotty Bowman, NHL 
8. Dean Smith, college basketball 
9. Casey Stengel, MLB 
10. Knute Rockne, college football 

11. Pat Summitt, women’s college basketball
12. Paul Brown, NFL 
13. Joe Paterno, college football 
14. George Halas, NFL 
15. Chuck Noll, NFL 
16. Bob Knight, college basketball 
17. Joe Gibbs, NFL 
18. Tom Landry, NFL 
19. Mike Krzyzewski, college basketball 
20. Bill Belichick, NFL 

21. Adolph Rupp, college basketball
22. Joe McCarthy, MLB 
23. Eddie Robinson, college football 
24. Bobby Bowden, college football 
25. John McGraw, MLB 
26. Bill Walsh, NFL 
27. Woody Hayes, college football 
28. Connie Mack, MLB 
29. Bud Wilkinson, college football 
30. Pat Riley, NBA 

31. Pete Newell, college basketball
32. Joe Torre, MLB 
33. Bill Parcells, NFL 
34. Tom Osborne, college football 
35. Walter Alston, MLB 
36. Bo Schembechler, college football 
37. Toe Blake, NHL 
38. Sparky Anderson, MLB 
39. Al Arbour, NHL 
40. Amos Alonzo Stagg, college football 

41. Tony La Russa, MLB 
42. Geno Auriemma, women’s college basketball 
43. Dick Irvin, NHL 
44. Ara Parseghian, college football 
45. Chuck Daly, NBA 
46. Bobby Cox, MLB 
47. Hank Iba, college basketball 
48. Tommy Lasorda, MLB 
49. Gregg Popovich, NBA 
50. Herb Brooks, NHL

TSN‘s head coaches from the Hockey looks like this: 7. Scotty Bowman. 37. Toe Blake. 39. Al Arbour. 43. Dick Irvin. 50. Herb Brooks. 

Okay, I get Scotty B., Toe, and Al. After that, though, we got a problem.

Problem number one: no Glen Sather. There can be no serious list of all-time great hockey head coaches without Sather being mentioned. This man was not only the head coach of the Edmonton Oilers from their inception but after the team’s first year, he was also the team President and General Manager. Edmonton made the playoffs under Sather from the 1979–80 season until 1984–85. For the next five years, Sather split coaching duties with John Muckler, but retained the title of head coach. With Sather at the helm in various capacities, the Oilers won four  Stanley Cups (1983-84, 1984-85, 1986-87, 1987-88) in seven years.

With Sather wearing many hats, he and chief scout Barry Fraser put together perhaps the greatest collection of hockey players ever.  Within four years, the pair drafted an outstanding core of young players, including Wayne Gretzky, Mark Messier, Paul Coffey, Jari Kurri, Glenn Anderson, Kevin Lowe, and goalies Grant Fuhr and Andy Moog.

Next, where the hell is Pat Quinn? I know, I know, puck heads will say, Quinn’s teams never hoisted Lord Stanley’s but in the topsy-turvy, merry-go-round world of NHL head coaching Quinn’s teams reached the playoffs in 15 of 19 years as a head coach.

He coached the Philadelphia Flyers to three straight playoff appearances, including one Stanley cup Finals (he was fired during his fourth season withe the Flyers). Quinn took a mediocre LA Kings team to the playoffs in the 1984-85 season but missed postseason play the next year and resigned midway through the 1986-87 season.

From the 1990-91 season to the 199-5-96 season Quinn got the Vancouver Canucks to five playoff appearances in a row, with a trip to the Finals the fourth season. Then from the 1998-99 season to the 2004-05 season Quinn guided the Toronto Maple Leafs to six straight playoff spots.

Finally, let’s reach back into the past and exlain Dick Irvin, Sr. Irvin’s career spanned from 1928-29 season to the 1955-56 season. In 27 seasons (26 full seasons) as a head coach Irvin’s teams missed the playoffs only three times. He won championships with the Toronto Maple Leafs in the 1931-32 season, with Montreal Canadians in in 1943-44, 1945-46, and in 1952-53.

Irvin was responsible for the beginning of the Canadians dynasty. The Habs went to the Stanley Cup finals five seasons in a row and won in three of those seasons. 

Hockey head coaches: 1. Scotty Bowman. 2. Toe Blake. 3. Al Arbour. 4. Glen Sather. 5. Dick Irvin. 6. Pat Quinn. 7. Herb Brooks.

From NCAA Hoops: 1. John Wooden. 2. Pat Summit. 3. Geno Auriemma. 4. John McLendon. 5. Bob Knight. 6. Mike Krzyzewski. 7. John Thompson. 8. Jim Calhoun. 9. Dean Smith.

From the NFL: 1. Paul Brown. 2. Bill Walsh. 3. Vince Lombardi. 4. George Halas. 5. Sid Gillman. 6. Bill Belichick. 7. Tom Landry. 8. Don Shula. 9. Chuck Noll.

NCAA Football head coaches l: 1. Joe Paterno. 2. Bud Wilkinson. 3 Tom Osborne. 4. Paul “Bear” Bryant. 5. Eddie Robinson. 6. Bobby Bowden. 7. Woody Hayes. 8. Bo Schembechler. 9. Amos Alonzo Stagg. 10. Ara Parseghian.

NBA head coaches: 1. Phil Jackson. 2. Red Auerbach. 3. Pat Riley. 4. Gregg Popovich. 5. Chuck Daly. 

And finally my MLB manager list looks like this: 1. Earl Weaver. 2. Walter Alston. 3. Bobby Cox. 4. Joe Torre. 5. Sparky Anderson. 6. Tommy Lasorda. 7. Joe McCarthy. 8. Connie Mack. 9. John McGraw.

That makes 49 head coaches instead of 50. Monday when I put out the ranked list I’ll surprise you with the 50th head coach (but not necessarily number 50).

Can you guess who it is?