Claude Julien Back With Boston, Feeling Support From Bosses
BOSTON (CBS) -- In the spring of 2013, Bruins bench boss Claude Julien grew a bit tired of fielding questions about the reasoning behind his lineup decisions. And so, he answered one question quite frankly: "Because I'm the coach."
Now two years later, Julien can still state with confidence that he is the coach, though that was a position that was not always guaranteed over the last couple of months.
When the Bruins fired GM Peter Chiarelli, team president Cam Neely said he would leave it up to the next GM to decide Julien's fate. And even after the Bruins promoted Don Sweeney to the GM job, there was a period of a few weeks where Julien's status swayed in the breeze.
But now, Julien has the backing of his GM, and he said he holds no hard feelings or any negativity from being forced to play the waiting game.
"I think what the important part was to understand, and I said it right from the get-to when I met with them, is that I understand the business and you have to allow the GM time to assess and make decisions," Julien said Wednesday. "He's gotta feel comfortable, too. So as much as it wasn't fun or easy, it wasn't frustration. It was more about understanding the situation. And I understood it. I spoke with Don quite a few times, and we talked about different things, so it wasn't just about one situation, which is the coach. It was about the whole situation of coaches, trainers, everything else. We went through the whole scenario of what was important for him to know, and he had to make some decisions."
Despite the long wait, Julien said he never felt as though his time coaching in Boston was over.
"It's kind of a give and take. I guess my feeling was pretty positive. I really felt like we could certainly work together, and even in our conversations, it felt that way. Maybe if it hadn't been that way, it would've been different. But it wasn't," Julien said. "It's not always, I guess, a comfortable situation, but it happens to, I guess, everybody at some point in this type of business."
With Mike Babcock's decision to ditch Detroit, Julien is now the longest-tenured head coach in the NHL. Julien was asked what that means, and the 55-year-old showed he truly understands the fickle nature of the business.
"It just means that I'm probably the next one to fall off the totem pole, right? That's basically it," he said with a laugh. "I'm going to try to make it last as long as I can, to be honest with you. I love Boston, I love the city, I love the fans -- what a great group of fans that we have. They love their team, and everything I've seen around the city from all the sports teams around, this is a great sports city. I feel privileged to be here, and as I said before, I'd like to make it last as long as I can."
As for changes made to the team's philosophy on the ice, Julien said the team needs to improve the transition game to create speed with the puck. But don't expect a completely new look to the Bruins team come October.
"For people that think we're going to play a run-and-gun game, that's not happening," Julien promised. "This game hasn't changed. You need good defense, you need good offense. You need both. And we've been able to do that for a lot of years."
Julien was also asked about the oft-whispered rumor that Neely has wanted to fire Julien at times in the past.
"That's what's been 'out there.' Is it the truth? That's the biggest question. So I guess that comment that keeps coming back, I remember reading with Cam about that, that zero-zero comment. It's so long gone. We've been together on the road, we've had drinks, and we've spent time together, so I think it's foolish to think that a president is just hovering over a coach's head waiting to fire him. He's had the power, I guess, to do that, and he didn't. So I think right there and then, it's gotta tell you something. So it's not an issue for me."
Zolak and Bertrand discussed Claude's comments on Wednesday. Listen below:
