Summarize and humanize this content to 2000 words in 6 paragraphs in EnglishDon Sweeney put Joe Sacco in a difficult situation. On Nov. 19, 2024, the Boston Bruins general manager asked Sacco to take over from Jim Montgomery on an interim basis and straighten out a shaky roster. At first, Sacco helped to stabilize the leaks, primarily on defense. The Bruins went 7-2-0 in his first nine games, allowing 2.00 goals per game, second-lowest in the NHL.But when the Bruins hit the skids following the holiday break and couldn’t straighten things out, Sacco had to take one for the team and eat the trade deadline aftermath. He could not repair what Sweeney had designed and constructed.Sacco did all this without complaint over his predicament. He has been a good employee for 11 seasons. Sacco has done it all, from overseeing the penalty kill to coaching the defense to calling the shots for a borderline NHL roster. “I was given an opportunity and I’m trying to make the most out of it the best I can,” Sacco said before the team’s regular-season finale. “Whether it’s injuries, whether it’s us at the deadline making certain moves to change the focus of the direction a little bit of the organization, my job is to prepare the players and maximize the lineup.”Sacco did his best to keep the waters calm during a turbulent time. He left lines and pairings alone, compared to Montgomery’s preference for changing things up. Sacco made it a point to dig deeper into player relationships than he did in his previous head coaching spin with the Colorado Avalanche from 2009 to 2013.“Joe’s awesome,” said Morgan Geekie, who scored a career-high 33 goals and should cash in as a restricted free agent. “He was put in a tough situation, for sure, just with where the team was at at the time. He did a great job of rallying us together.”How much Sacco’s employer-first approach factors in Sweeney’s search for a permanent head coach remains to be seen.The Bruins are rebuilding. Sweeney has to restock a roster that finished 2024-25 with six Game 82 players (Frederic Brunet, John Farinacci, Vinni Lettieri, Fabian Lysell, Fraser Minten, Ian Mitchell) bound to Providence for the AHL playoffs. Management may determine that the 56-year-old Sacco is not the right fit for a team that has room to grow. Ditto for Joel Quenneville, 66; John Tortorella, 66; and Gerard Gallant, 61.So while Sacco will be under consideration for the position, the following are six candidates with head coaching experience who could also be fits for the situation:David CarleThe current University of Denver coach could have multiple suitors, considering his track record. The Pioneers won NCAA championships in 2022 and 2024 under Carle’s watch, and he coached Team USA to back-to-back gold medals in the 2024 and 2025 World Junior Championships.Carle, 35, was Montgomery’s assistant at Denver for four seasons before his 2018 promotion. He will have seen the way the Bruins fired Montgomery and make that part of any decision.He’s also indicated that he’s in no big hurry to flee Denver.Jay LeachCurrently the Bruins’ assistant in charge of the defense, Leach was hired by Sweeney in the offseason after he was not retained by the Seattle Kraken, where he had been Dave Hakstol’s assistant for three seasons.Leach interviewed with the Bruins in 2022 for the head coaching position. The 45-year-old was AHL Providence’s head coach for four seasons, overseeing the development of current Bruins Jeremy Swayman and Jakub Lauko. He has an upbeat, engaging and relatable personality.Ryan MougenelMougenel is in his fourth season as Providence’s head coach and has coached Lauko, Michael Callahan, Riley Duran, Lysell, Minten, Mitchell, Johnny Beecher and Mason Lohrei.The 49-year-old is full of energy and positivity but also knows when to be hard on his players.He served as Leach’s assistant for two seasons and is highly knowledgeable about players at every level of the organization.Jay PandolfoPandolfo just concluded his third season as Boston University’s head coach, with the Terriers losing to Western Michigan in the NCAA title game. He has coached BU to three straight Frozen Fours.The 50-year-old coached current NHLers Lane Hutson and Macklin Celebrini at BU, the two frontrunners for the Calder Trophy. He spent five seasons as a Bruins assistant before that, first to Claude Julien, then to Bruce Cassidy.Pandolfo worked with the forwards and the penalty kill as a Bruins assistant. He left the Bruins after 2020-21 to be BU’s associate coach under Albie O’Connell.His son, Sam Pandolfo, has been named to the U.S. National Team Development Program’s Under-17 team.
Jay Pandolfo on the Bruins bench in 2020 NHL. (Andre / Getty Images)David QuinnThe current Pittsburgh Penguins assistant is about to complete his first season at Mike Sullivan’s side. He was also one of Sullivan’s Team USA assistants at the 4 Nations Face-off.Quinn had the head job with the San Jose Sharks for the previous two seasons, which followed three years as the head coach of the New York Rangers. He interviewed with the Bruins in 2022 for the head coaching position. He’s the oldest of this cohort at 58 but uses his approachable personality to engage playersQuinn Coached Charlie McAvoy at BU and remains close to the defenseman. He was coincidentally Sacco’s assistant for one season in Colorado.Marco SturmThe current head coach of the Ontario Reign is headed to his third straight AHL postseason. He was in the running for the San Jose Sharks position that went to Ryan Warsofsky.Sturm coached current Los Angeles Kings Quinton Byfield and Brandt Clarke. The 46-year-old served as an assistant to Todd McLellan with the Kings for four seasons.(Top photos of David Carle and Jay Leach: Maddie Meyer and Michael Reaves / Getty Images)
