Blue Jackets fire coach: Rick Bowness takes the helm

Big news in Columbus.

The Blue Jackets have fired their coach, Dean Evason. They also showed his assistant, Steve McCarthy, the door.

Rick Bowness will replace Evason behind the bench.

Team Update

We've relieved head coach Dean Evason and assistant coach Steve McCarthy of their duties and hired veteran NHL coach Rick Bowness as the club's head coach.

CBJ x @OHHeartofitAll pic.twitter.com/cXWr59Pd5w

– Columbus Blue Jackets (@BlueJacketsNHL) January 12, 2026

This is rather unexpected news.

The Blue Jackets are having an ordinary season… but are only six short points behind the Leafs and a playoff spot. I guess the organization had higher expectations for the 5-26 season and wanted to act quickly before it was too late.

In the end, Dean Evason was the club's head coach for a grand total of… 127 games. Let's just say his time in Columbus was short.

Now we have to wonder whether Rick Bowness will be able to change things at the club.

The Blue Jackets are young… and Bowness has plenty of experience behind the bench of an NHL team. He spent a few years in the AHL, but his record is still pretty impressive, even if he was never able to win the Stanley Cup:

Let's not forget that Bowness said he wanted to retire at the end of the 23-24 season, after the Winnipeg Jets were eliminated in the first round of the playoffs.

But a look at his resume shows just how much he loves the game. He had an opportunity to get back behind the bench of a National League club, and he decided to take it and see what it would be like.

Now let's see if the Blue Jackets can get back to winning ways with this change.

Extension

I wonder if something happened in Columbus to get Dean Evason and his assistant fired in the middle of the season.

Then again, maybe Don Waddell just wasn't happy with his team's performance.