How Celtics’ Joe Mazzulla Reacted To Bruins Firing Jim Montgomery

Being a head coach of a Boston professional sports teams is a fraternity for only a select few at a time.

That group lost one of its members Tuesday.

The Bruins decided it was time to move on from Jim Montgomery after an 8-9-3 start to this season. They promoted Joe Sacco to interim head coach.

Montgomery’s departure drew a reaction from another Boston head coach as Joe Mazzulla addressed the dismissal of Montgomery prior to the Celtics taking on the Cleveland Cavaliers at TD Garden.

“I talked to him a couple of times. It’s tough,” Mazzulla told reporters. “Talked to him a few times and I liked watching the games, but I didn’t really dive deep into his coaching philosophy or stuff like that. Hate to see a coach have to go through that, but we all get hired to get fired.”

Montgomery spent two-plus seasons at the helm of the Bruins and amassed a 120-41-23 record, which including presiding over the winningest single season in NHL history when the Bruins earned 65 victories during the 2022-23 campaign.

But that wasn’t enough to save Montgomery’s job. Boston’s shortcomings in the playoffs under Montgomery — the Bruins went 9-11 the last two seasons and failed to make it past the second round — ultimately did in the 55-year-old.

Mazzulla became a head coach in Boston at the same time as Montgomery, but under completely different circumstances. Montgomery’s stint with the Bruins was a second chance after being let go by the Dallas Stars in the middle of his second season in charge. Mazzulla was named the interim head coach of the Celtics just days prior to the team’s training camp in 2022 following the Ime Udoka saga.

Mazzulla is now alone as the second-longest tenured active coach in the Boston pro sports scene behind Alex Cora, who signed a three-year contract extension this season to stay with the Red Sox and has managed the club for six seasons already. Jerod Mayo, who is off to a 3-8 start in his first season as head coach of the New England Patriots, is third on that list now.