EDMONTON, Alberta — Oklahoma City Barons coach Todd Nelson will be taking over as the coach of the NHL’s Edmonton Oilers after Dallas Eakins was fired Monday as the coach of the Oilers.

Edmonton has lost 15 of 16 games and are well on the way to missing the playoffs for the ninth consecutive season.

General manager Craig MacTavish will temporarily coach the team until the job is given to Nelson, who is being promoted to interim head coach from Edmonton’s American Hockey League affiliate in Oklahoma City.

MacTavish called Eakins an “excellent coach” but said something had to be done after the losses piled up. The general manager acknowledged his share of the blame, saying there was “blood all over my hands” because he “put the lineup together.”