Blue Jackets’ Rick Bowness warned new team about his loud mouth after becoming head coach

On Monday, the Columbus Blue Jackets fired head coach Dean Evason and assistant Steve McCarthy after a frustrating season that included blowing a three-goal lead against Pittsburgh in a 5-4 overtime loss on January 4 and a rough 1-3 road trip, leaving the team seventh in the Metropolitan Division.

They quickly brought back 70-year-old Rick Bowness out of retirement. Bowness came to the office to replace Evason, who went 59-52-16 in 127 games over two seasons. Bowness previously coached the Winnipeg Jets from 2022 to 2024 and the Dallas Stars from 2019 to 2022, leading the Stars to the 2020 Stanley Cup Final, where they lost in six games to the Tampa Bay Lightning.

Bowness made sure that his arrival was known, as he gave a blunt message to his new team.

“I’m a talker, so get used to it, Bowness said, per BlueJackets.com’s Jeff Svoboda.

“He was talking all the time. I think it’s almost rare when he’s not talking,” Charlie Coyle said postgame after being on the bench with the veteran coach.

Announcing the coaching change, Blue Jackets general manager Don Waddell praised Bowness’ experience and leadership.

“Rick Bowness is a tremendous coach with invaluable experience and knowledge, and he will bring a steadiness to our team at an important juncture in our season,” said Waddell. “He is a good communicator whose teams play with structure, are sound defensively, and we believe he is the right person to bring out the best in our group.”

Assistant coach Steve McCarthy was also dismissed, one season after the Blue Jackets finished 40-33-9 and missed the second Eastern Conference wild card by two points. Columbus has not reached the playoffs since the 2019-20 season.

Meanwhile, Bowness expressed his enthusiasm for the opportunity after being hired.

“I appreciate the opportunity to come to Columbus because it is a good organization with good people, and this is a team that I think I can help improve.”

He brings a wealth of experience to Columbus, having coached 803 NHL games as a head or interim coach with six franchises. The 70-year-old owns a career record of 310-408-48-37 and has spent decades behind NHL benches.

Bowness jumped right in, running practice at Nationwide Arena and winning his debut game 5-3 against the Calgary Flames on Tuesday.

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