‘The wrong coach got fired.’ Dallas Stars fans react to shocking Jim Montgomery firing.
Long-time Dallas Stars beat writer Mike Heika summed it up perfectly.
“This really was a blindside moment,” Heika said on Twitter after Stars’ general manager Jim Nill concluded a press conference formally addressing the firing of head coach Jim Montgomery.
Montgomery was fired for “unprofessional conduct inconsistent with the core values and beliefs of the Dallas Stars and the National Hockey League,” according to Nill.
But Nill would not elaborate on exactly what Montgomery did to get fired. It’s the DFW area’s second sordid and mysterious firing of a head coach in the past five years. Ron Washington abruptly resigned as the Texas Rangers manager in September 2014 for an off-the-field personal failing. Details have never been confirmed or reported on the exact nature of Washington’s transgression.
Fans were quick to speculate about Montgomery and draw parallels with Washington’s departure. And, of course, many took the moment to lament on social media that the wrong Dallas coach was fired. See: the Dallas Cowboys’ Jason Garrett.
Others wondered if Montgomery’s off-color interview on KCTK/1310 “The Ticket” in which he was asked some crude, humorous questions had anything to do with it. That theory has been denied by the Stars, a source said.
This story was originally published December 10, 2019 at 12:49 PM.
