Claude Julien On Sports Final: Ready For Challenge Ahead
BOSTON (CBS) -- When the Bruins were sent home on the final day of the regular season, out of the playoffs for the second straight season, Claude Julien had to do some self-evaluating.
The head coach was in the crosshairs of the media when his job was on the line following another disappointing finish. He had to ask himself if he was the man for the job in Boston, and if he was up for what could be a lengthy rebuild as the franchise tries to get back to being annual Stanley Cup contenders.
He's done it before, and he's ready to do it again.
"If I could help them I would love to be here, but if I couldn't I didn't want to stand in their way. If it was time for me to go I would have gone to [general manager] Don [Sweeney] and told him the team was better off moving forward without me," Julien told Dan Roche for WBZ-TV's Sports Final. "But the self-evaluation I did, regarding all the situations as far as the players being tuned out and all of those things, when you look at the players you've had for the nine years you've been here -- [Patrice] Bergeron, Zdeno Chara, David Krejci, [Brad] Marchand, [Dennis] McQuaid -- those guys are big believers and playing hard in this system we're trying to put together. That reassured me a bit, but at the same time I had to ask myself if I was ready for this challenge.
"It was important for me to say I can deal with this and all the bumpy roads. I want to be that guy that came here nine years ago in the same situation and was able to help this team bring a Stanley Cup to the city. I plan on having the same approach, the same attitude I had nine years ago," said Julien.
Julien said he's ready for the impending youth movement in Boston, and is anxious to help a young crop of Bruins get better on the ice.
"I want to do that all over again. I don't want to be the guy that bails out when things start getting tough and leave the issues for someone else. I want to dig my heels in and really get to work, turn this around," he said. "I love this organization, I love these fans and I love the city. When you have that, you want to do those things for all the right reasons."
Check out Rochie's full sit down with the Bruins head coach, where Julien explains what makes Patrice Bergeron, Zdeno Chara and Brad Marchand so special. He also discusses being honored by the Bruins for becoming the franchise's all-time winningest coach, and his relationship with Patriots head coach Bill Belichick.
Tune in to Sports Final every Sunday night at 11:35 p.m. on WBZ-TV!
