The Hamilton Bulldogs will have a new head coach behind the bench this season. Which would typically suggest the general manager wasn't satisfied with the job the current guy is doing and decided it was time to shake things up and get a fresh start.

Yet that doesn't seem to be the case here. And there is nothing typical about this move.

This unusual story involves three men: general manager Steve Staios, outgoing head coach Dave Matsos and incoming head coach Vince Laise. All three were with the team last year. All three will be with the team this coming season.

The situation goes like this.

In the wake of head coach John Gruden departing - he'd led the team to the Ontario Hockey League championship before getting an assistant coaching gig with the New York Islanders in the summer of 2018 - Staios turned to his lifelong friend Matsos to fill the vacancy. Matsos had experience. He'd been head coach of the Sudbury Wolves for three seasons. Before that he'd been an assistant there and in Windsor with the Spitfires and head coach in the British pro league. Plus, he'd been associate head coach during the title season in Hamilton. It made sense.

The trouble was, things weren't going particularly well for him physically as the year got going. You may remember the scary moment he collapsed behind the Bulldogs' bench in Barrie early last season. That wasn't the only thing bugging him. He also had pain in his neck from the injury that ended his playing career and required two surgeries, and a hip that was degenerating more quickly than he expected.

He says the stiffness and soreness in that joint while getting off the bus after a six-hour ride to Ottawa made him nauseous. Walking 20 steps from bed to the bathroom in the morning took five minutes. Trying to find a comfortable-enough position at night to get five hours sleep was tough. And just getting ready for practice was a chore.

"When you're in a full sweat tying your skates up at 45 years old, that's not right," he says.

To solve part of the problem, he had his right hip replaced in mid-May. It wasn't easy. There was an infection along the way that required three rounds of antibiotics. And tons of physiotherapy was needed.

All of this came into play during his regular conversations with Staios throughout the summer. Could he give everything to the team at this point that a head coach must? His left hip is also degenerating and will need to be replaced at some point. His neck needs another surgery. What if it happened mid-season?

It got the wheels in the front office moving. Staios has shown himself to be pretty good at succession planning. When Gruden was here, Matsos was his right-hand man, ready to step in when the door opened. When Matsos was hired into that role, Laise was elevated to associate head coach.

"His trajectory has been amazing," Staios says, describing the 36-year-old as innovative, energetic and a leader.

So about a month ago, during yet another chat with Matsos - who still hadn't been on skates since the surgery - he proposed a plan with the incumbent. When he got the thumbs up, he called Laise into the meeting and asked if he was interested in the gig.

"No question," Laise says. "I always had a goal of wanting to be a head coach in the league."

That done, Matsos then agreed to take the job of associate head coach. Taking Laise's old title and role.

There aren't many cases in sports where the coach steps back to become the assistant and his assistant becomes the boss. It could be awkward to reverse the roles and still have everyone genuinely OK with it. But that appears to be the case here.

Laise says it doesn't matter who holds what title, they're all just working together to do their jobs. Besides, they all like each other.

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Matsos says he's really comfortable and really happy with the setup. He says he's feeling a thousand per cent better and doesn't intend to miss any time for recovery reasons. Then again, he didn't expect to miss any time last year, he quips. Now if he has to, he feels he can without letting the players down.

And Staios says he gets to have the best of all worlds by keeping both Matsos and Laise while shifting things around.

"There was no intention of Dave not sticking around," Staios says. "Not for a second."

Can it work? Can this untraditional setup do the job and keep everyone satisfied?

Assuming everyone is telling the truth about how they're feeling and there really is a belief that this is good for everyone, why not?

Unusual doesn't have to mean wrong.

sradley@thespec.com

905-526-2440 | @radleyatthespec

Spectator columnist Scott Radley hosts The Scott Radley Show weeknights from 6-8 on 900CHML