REPORT: Chiarelli to Interview Todd Nelson for Head Coaching Position

It looks like Peter Chiarelli is doing his due diligence as reports circulate that Todd Nelson will be interviewed for the Head Coaching position at some point this weekend. I’m not going to lie, having all these “interviews” for positions within the Oilers organization seems so foreign to me. These are strange times, friends.

Regardless of what happens with the head coaching position, I feel for Todd Nelson. The guy came in as the interim head coach, did his best with what he had, knew that he may not stick as the full time guy, and is currently waiting to see how things shake out. That’s a tough way to go into the summer. Think about it: Nelson has to wait and see how things shake out before he can really plan the next few years of his life. On the bright side, that wait may be coming to end.

According to Darren Dreger, Todd Nelson will sit down with Peter Chiarelli to talk about the position, and likely his future with the organization. Per Dreger:

To me, it makes sense that Chiarelli would want to sit down with Nelson. Nelson was not hired by Peter Chiarelli, and the new GM likely doesn’t know all that much about him yet. Making matters more complicated is the fact that Todd Nelson still has time left on his contract. Does he really want to go back to coaching in the AHL? To me, it wouldn’t be unreasonable for Nelson to ask for permission to find a job elsewhere if he doesn’t land a gig in the NHL coaching staff going into next season. Being passed over for the head coaching job twice in a row would be a big shot to anyone’s ego.

Nelson aside, I still think that the Oilers need a head coach with some experience leading the charge. Ideally, I would like to see Todd Nelson in an associate coaching role so that the Oilers can continue to capitalize on the existing relationships that he formed with the players. Whether or not Todd Nelson (or the Oilers) is up for that kind of arrangement is still up in the air.

As Lowetide would say, we wait…