Flavin Media

It’s been a mixed bag of success the past few years with sports in New England, so let’s take a look at the gradebook for the area’s coaches…

Joe Sacco (Bruins): C+

The situation was obviously tough on Sacco, having Montgomery being fired and him being sort of forced into the role. His high marks are mostly for getting the team to care about the defensive zone as much as they should have at the start of the season, while the detrimental negatives are special teams and a lack of general strategical adjustments.

Joe Mazzulla (Celtics): A-

Mazzulla was going to have a positive bias after winning this city another title recently, but he’s coached the team this season to gradually ramp up play. Lack of defending and messing with the league’s referees at times is a bother, but he has this team smartly conserving energy for the second half title run.

Mike Vrabel (Patriots): New

Alex Cora (Red Sox): B+

When you recognize the 2018 title and the different path in recent years that ownership chose to take in regards to investing, a B+ makes sense. Cora has shown strong managing of players and situations, with only the 2019 non playoff season being a blemish – which does look worse in hindsight with the names on that roster.