With Ferris Athletics’ Jan. 14 announcement that hockey head coach Bob Daniels will retire at the end of the season, the program now sits in uncharted territory.
The decision for the Bulldogs’ 33-year coach to hang it up doesn’t come exactly as a surprise. Daniels is in the last year of his contract, and he’s been adamant that he’s on the “back nine” of his career.

Let me put something into perspective for you. Between 1975 and 1991, the first 16 years of Ferris’ hockey program, five different coaches led the Bulldogs. The longest of those five was Ferris’ first coach, Rick Duffett, who lasted seven seasons. Since 1992, Daniels has been piloting every campaign. Bulldog hockey, now in its 50th season, has been guided by the same coach for 66% of its existence.
Longevity in sports isn’t something you exactly see much of these days. Coaching carousels at the professional level dominate headlines every offseason. You don’t see the same amount at the college level, especially with collegiate hockey.
A decade-by-decade overlook of active coaches proves this. Of the active 64 NCAA DI teams, 27 coaches (42%) were hired in the 2020s, 22 (34%) were hired in the 2010s, nine (14%) in the 2000s, five (8%) in the 1990s and only one (2%) in the 1980s. Daniels’ hiring in 1992 made him the most senior coach of the decade, beating Quinnipiac’s Rand Pecknold by two years. The Bulldogs’ coach is only bested in seniority by Mercyhurst’s Rick Gotkin, the only remaining coach from the 1980s.
Daniels’ retirement signals a natural loss of hockey’s old guard. For Ferris State hockey, it’s ground, which it hasn’t been on in 33 years. So, what comes next?
It wouldn’t be shocking for Daniels’ assistant coaches to join his departure. This is what usually occurs when one head coach retires or takes a job elsewhere. This means coaches Drew Famulak, Mark Kaufman and Drew Cencer, all had been with Daniels for 17+ years, will most likely move on. The program’s upcoming seventh coach will want to build their staff out themselves.
Another likely consequence of the departure is players will leave too. When the coaching staff or the coach that recruited them leaves, it’s also no surprise that some may leave too. When former Northern Michigan coach Grant Potulny left last offseason, 18 players followed and went elsewhere.
Now, that number is high, and a mass exodus is not what usually occurs. However, I won’t be totally surprised if there’s something akin to what the program experienced last offseason- a mix of seniors and younger players cutting ties with the program.
These things happen when any organization or program enters a transitional period. It’s natural.
At the heart of everything I’ve mentioned is change. Perhaps for Bulldog hockey, it’s time for change.
It’s easy to point at the records of the past ten seasons. Ferris hasn’t sported an above-.500 record since the 2015-16 season. The program has fallen under hard times, including a ghastly 1-23-1 record in 2020-21.
It’s been tough. I’ve covered Ferris hockey for four years. Myself, the players, the coaching staff and the school have only seen one CCHA playoff victory in those years. It’s most certainly frustrating for everyone involved.
Before me, there were classes of students and players who witnessed the Bulldogs be one-and-done in the playoffs for a few years straight. One of the more damning quotes I’ve received in my time reporting on the team was when former captain Liam MacDougall said the only thing that would keep him up at night was Ferris never making it out of the first round of the playoffs.
By no means am I trying to undermine what Daniels has accomplished in his time. Five hundred career wins, a two-time Spencer Penrose award winner, three coach of the year awards between the WCHA and CCHA and a Frozen Four and national championship berth aren’t anything to scoff at.
As I’ve said before, longevity doesn’t happen these days. Coaching at any level is a volatile thing. I’d argue there isn’t such a thing as job security. Coaches often fall on the sword for lackluster or disastrous seasons, even if they’re not responsible.
It’s the quickest way for a program to spark (or try to spark) revitalization, whether it’s the right move to make or not.
For those concerned about Ferris hockey ceasing existence or leaving the prestige of DI, the program isn’t going anywhere. President Pink confirmed to me back in September that there’s no plan to change the level of competition and that it is important to uphold Daniels’ legacy.
What’s happening for Ferris hockey may be the happy ending for all parties. Daniels, with a 500-win career in the books, gets to go out on his own accord. He’s a legendary figure in these parts, and he’s left his mark on NCAA hockey history. For the program and university, they get to start a new era when they hire a new coach without an awkward dismissal if it ever would have come to that.
You can absolutely argue that I’m wrong here. From the fan’s perspective, it’s been brutal to witness losing seasons. No one wants to watch their team lose, let alone lose that much. We can debate whether it was right to not make a change. To me, it’s pointless now. Choices were made and we live in the present where Daniels will retire after this season.
Upcoming is a clean slate for the program. It’s a chance to begin again. Whether the coaching change will bring the aforementioned revitalization, or continue the streak of losing seasons, remains to be seen.
Until then, there’s a season left to be played and a coach yet to retire. The navigation of the uncharted territory between now and then could make or break for the future of Bulldog hockey.