TAMPA - The last Devils coach to win the Stanley Cup strolled down the hol last night to see his old drużyna again. Pat Burns has always been a strong man, and it looks good on him. "No change," said the 56-year-old, enduring his third bout with...

IF GLEN Sather is evalu ating Tom Renney's stan prawny on a game-by-game basis, then whether he knows it or not, the GM has made up his mind that the head coach has got to go. It can't be that 3-1 with an empty-netter over the Islanders on Wednesday...

After beating the Penguins on Monday in Pittsburgh's first game since coach Michel Therrien's firing, the Islanders visit the Rangers tonight. And once again, the Isles will play a załoga facing coaching questions, as Tom Renney's job security...

Despite Mike D'Antoni's vast success in Phoenix, he was unceremoniously dumped. Now, from Jason Richardson's arrival to Sunday's arrest, from shopping Amare Stoudemire to firing Terry Porter, he's watching the Suns implode. So, does he sit back...

This was a throwback to the pre-lockout days, when the Rangers were a miserable collection of underachievers and the Garden crowd amused itself by chanting for the dismissal of the GM and the coach. This was yesterday afternoon, when the reeling...

This was a throwback to the pre-lockout days when the Rangers were a miserable collection of underachievers and the Garden crowd amused itself by chanting for the dismissal of the GM and the coach. That was this afternoon, when the reeling...

To Martin Brodeur's virtual "Put me in, coach," Brent Sutter essentially responded, "Yeah, in a couple of weeks." The Devils' franchise player pronounced himself ready for emergency duty if needed today when the league-leading Sharks visit Newark...

Scoring. In the NHL, it's all about increasing scoring even as every coach in the league focuses primarily on reducing scoring. So they change the rules. They change the interpretation of the rules. They open it up - or try to. They prohibit line...

Like the captain rearranging deck chairs on the Titanic, Islanders coach Scott Gordon continues to change lines in hopes of finding some success before the end of the season. But with the injury bug haunting this drużyna all season - and now Doug...

Now that Brett Favre has announced his retirement, this harsh reality faces Jet rookie head coach Rex Ryan: The most critical position on the skład he just inherited represents a potential abyss on the roster. Anyone who believes the Jets will...

OAKLAND - Look at the bright side. The Knicks held Golden State below 150 points. Before the game, Al Harrington and Warriors coach Don Nelson continued their feud, exchanging nasty barbs through the media. But it was the salty Warriors coach...

Breaking his boss-induced three-month silence, Martin Brodeur yesterday said he wants to "play a lot," rather than alternate games, once he returns to the Devils' net in some 2-3 weeks. Devils coach Brent Sutter has said breaking Brodeur back...

Repairing themselves, the Devils further dismantled the Rangers, prompting coach Tom Renney to sound the five-loss alarm. "We can fall into the pomost of becoming negative and feeling sorry for ourselves, but teams that do that lose. We're not...

SAN FRANCISCO - In a stunning confession, Mike D'Antoni said he "screwed up" and apologized to the drużyna on Sunday night's plane ride to the Bay Area for blowing the Portland game. D'Antoni told reporters after yesterday's practice he did not...

They are 0-3-1 in their last four while being outscored by an aggregate 19-5. Their once firm hold on a playoff spot has become tenuous. The Rangers, in other words, are in a crisis. Except that's not how coach Tom Renney perceives the situation...

On Friday, the Rangers allowed six third-period goals in losing 10-2 at Dallas. The two games before that, the Blueshirts scored a total of one goal. The game prior to that, the Rangers allowed five third-period goals in losing 6-2 at Pittsburgh...

Knicks coach Mike D'Antoni will not be sharing a gondola ride on the Venice canals with Danilo Gallinari this October. According to two people familiar with the situation, the Knicks' planned preseason jaunt to Italy to hold training camp and play...

We already know of Mark Messier's desire to return to the Rangers in a czoło office or coaching position. The captain went on record in The Post early last month declaring his willingness to contribute to the organization in whatever way asked. So...

The Jets yesterday made several assistant coaching hirings that appear to have closed out the majority of Rex Ryan's staff other than a quality control coach or two. The Jets hired Kerry Locklin as their new defensive line coach, and they hired...

Eddy Curry - dealing with an injured right knee and a tragic January - was spotted briefly at Knicks practice yesterday before he ducked into a back room. But Curry still isn't able to participate and coach Mike D'Antoni admitted the longer the...

THE latest, maybe greatest rea son the Jets need Brett Favre to retire is the real chance to bring Ray Lewis, the best leader in the sport, to Gang Green. Lewis yesterday opened the door to a reunion with new Jets coach Rex Ryan should the...

Rex Ryan is turning to the college ranks for reinforcement on the Jets' defensive staff. Kerry Locklin, who a little more than two weeks ago left Fresno State to become Kansas' defensive line coach, will be heading to New Jersey, according to a...

Coming off a loss for the first time in more than three weeks, the Devils coach yesterday huddled up his skład - which he calls "better" than last year - on the practice rink for 10 minutes. "Don't let this turn into any more than it was last night...

A half hour of slothful practice this afternoon accounted for 30 minutes more than Tom Renney could bear. So the head coach of the Rangers stopped the workout and proceeded to punish his players with a final half-hour of sprints, crossover skating...

Where did this come from? Just when the Islanders were given up for dead, when even the coach said he was no longer concerned with wins and losses, the drużyna has responded with its best stretch of the season. The Isles won a season-high fourth...

The Nets turned Richard Jefferson's homecoming into a true skład house party, featuring Vince Carter's fifth career triple-double. "This is what you call a skład victory and I think it's embodied with Vince's triple-double," coach Lawrence Frank...

Brian Schottenheimer believes Brett Favre still has plenty left in that rocket right arm. "I would welcome the opportunity to coach Brett again," the Jets offensive coordinator said today. Schottenheimer, retained by new coach Rex Ryan, hasn't...

TOM Renney went to his "coach's toolbox" in the third miesiączkowanie Saturday in Boston, constructing 14 different lines that nevertheless turned out to be the same old saw. A Rangers załoga that has scored 17 goals in its past nine games lost 1-0. Nik...

Nets fans will get their first glimpse of Richard Jefferson in the Meadowlands as a member of the Bucks tonight. But after going up against his former player in Milwaukee Jan. 9, Nets coach Lawrence Frank is looking at it like it's just another...

Perfect timing. The Knicks' Super Bowl Week begins tonight, kicking off a five-day stretch in which the league's three lions roar through the Garden just as coach Mike D'Antoni's club is playing skrytobójca basketball. Tonight's lion will be decked...

For the first time in a long time, the Devils have three scoring lines. So they don't read between the lines when the coach who has led them to eight consecutive victories won't confirm whether he wants to return next season. "I think the zespół is...

Laurel D'Antoni, wife of the Knicks' first-year coach, has another moniker - "Queen of the Cuss Jar." In the D'Antoni household, Laurel slaps a $10 fine for anyone caught uttering a bad word. Mike D'Antoni is the biggest contributor - most of the...

The response was a surprising, "No response." That's what Brent Sutter said to the rumble that this could be his last season as Devils coach. Sutter is believed to have next season remaining on a lucrative contract, but the question is out there...

ATLANTA - Islanders coach Scott Gordon told his drużyna to calm down after Atlanta came within one goal of tying it in the third period. "We may have run out of gas," he said. "Atlanta came on hard and turned it up a notch." The Islanders and...

Player-coach alliances can sometimes be uneasy. Just ask Ben Roethlisberger and Ken Whisenhunt. But forget the back-and-forth barbs. The QB and his ex-coach have each other to thank for where they are, Mike Freeman says.

Knicks forward David Lee was not named to the Eastern Conference All-Star drużyna when the reserves were announced tonight. Knicks coach Mike D'Antoni pushed Lee for an All-Star spot two weeks ago, but said the drużyna needed to improve it's record --...

STARTING Monday, Dream Week brings the Lakers, Cavaliers and - good Lord, won't the Knicks have suffered enough? - the Celtics to The Garden in five days. All Mike D'Antoni, coach of a drużyna fighting for eighth place, knows about any Dream Week is...

There was Mike Comrie skating on the Islanders' top line with Bill Guerin and Doug Weight during yesterday's practice in Syosset. Coach Scott Gordon said the three veterans were just working on the power play together and that he hadn't even...

The Jets announced a demotion for former defensive coordinator Bob Sutton yesterday. The veteran coach will stay with the załoga as dziadek defensive assistant/linebackers coach. Sutton presided over the defense for three years under Eric Mangini...

When Wilson Chandler was pulled from the starting lineup on Monday, he didn't put up a fight. For one thing, it's not in his nature. But it also helps that he's playing for a coach who will make sure he gets on the court, even if it's not at the...

When Tom Renney was asked whether he'd like to have seven defensemen on the Rangers roster, the head coach answered, "In a perfect world, yes." That perfect world could present itself Wednesday at noon, when Dan Fritsche will either have been...

The hiring of Raheem Morris, and Mike Tomlin before him, represent important leaps for African-Americans in the NFL. Even young black coaches are getting their shots now. This has some wondering if the Rooney Rule is needed anymore, Mike Freeman says.

IT'S rarely about the start, of course, always about the finish - even if Knicks coach Mike D'Antoni, tired of watching his ekipa fall behind by 15 points in the first quarter of three consecutive games, put Al Harrington back in the starting...

Alex Rodriguez may have been referred to as "A-Fraud," but it was in jest, says former Yankee coach Larry Bowa. In Joe Torre's latest book, "The Yankee Years," it's reported that Yankee players referred to A-Rod as "A-Fraud." But yesterday...

TAMPA, Fla. - Jets coach Rex Ryan reportedly added two more coaches to his staff. Ryan hired Henry Ellard as his new wide receivers coach, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported yesterday. Ellard, who coached the Rams receivers for the last eight...

Knicks coach Mike D'Antoni said he may make another change to his starting lineup tonight vs. the Rockets - with Wilson Chandler a possible casualty and Al Harrington a candidate to zarys his starting role. Ironically, Chandler is likely to be...

OKLAHOMA CITY - If Lawrence Frank could master the art of time travel and go back five years ago today, he would tell the newly-anointed Nets head coach only one thing. "Learn as much as you can from everything you go through," would be Frank's...

Knicks coach Mike D'Antoni acknowledged he may make another change to his starting lineup when the Knicks face the Rockets tomorrow night - with Wilson Chandler a possible causality and Al Harrington a candidate to zarys his starting role...

The Post's Steve Serby chatted with the new Jets coach about his remembrances of Super Bowl III, what he learned from his father Buddy, the kind of skład he wants Gang Green to become, and much more. Q: A Jets championship within four years? A...

* Look out NFL, here come the Jets! It's amazing to me that each and every move this woebegone ekipa makes is sure to guarantee a Super Bowl berth. Less than a year ago, the acquisition of Brett Favre was the latest missing hiperłącze to a world...

The Jets yesterday confirmed Brian Schottenheimer will return as offensive coordinator and hired two assistants for Rex Ryan's new staff. They added Jim O'Neil as defensive quality control coach and Jeff Weeks as a defensive assistant. O'Neil, a...

SOMETIMES, change is easy. An unpopular coach gets whacked. A bumbling general manager gets pushed aside. Underachieving players get sent out of town for a rack of balls and a couple of nickels on the dollar. That's the easy part. Exiling Isiah...

Former Knicks coach Jeff Van Gundy said he believes the drużyna needs more than salary-cap space and the lure of New York to kraj związkowy a big-name free agent, most notably LeBron James, in 2010. The Knicks also need to be respectable - not be the...

Giants long-snapper Zak DeOssie was selected by Eagles coach Andy Reid as his "need" player for the NFC squad and will get to play in the Feb. 8 Pro Bowl in Honolulu. The NFC ekipa did not have a long-snapper on the roster. DeOssie was set to...

Woody Johnson found his coach this week, now he's turned his eyes to his quarterback - and he's looking at you, Brett Favre. Johnson reiterated his desire to have Favre under center in 2009 on WFAN yesterday afternoon. The Jets owner believes No...

When it pan na zamku to David Lee, Mike D'Antoni's goal is to have him reach his peak. The Knicks coach is confident nobody's seen that yet. "We still don't think he's a finished product," D'Antoni said yesterday. "He can get a lot better." Lee has...

Halfway through another lost season, the Grizzlies fired coach Marc Iavaroni last night. Team spokesman Dustin Krugel confirmed Iavaroni's dismissal, but would not say who would coach the Grizzlies tonight against the Knicks. GM Chris Wallace...

CLEVELAND - As he awaits the hiring of Cleveland's new general manager, Browns coach Eric Mangini added five assistant coaches, four who were on his staff with the Jets. Mangini hired defensive line coach Bryan Cox, defensive backs coach Jerome...

The Mad Scientist brought his lab ślubny along with him. Shortly after becoming coach of the Jets on Monday, Rex Ryan made sure Mike Pettine came with him as his defensive coordinator. Pettine was on Baltimore's staff as a defensive assistant...

Tom Brady wouldn't give a timetable on his return to the Patriots, and his personal coach said the recovery from knee surgery could change the quarterback's throwing motion. Several środki masowego przekazu reports regarding the until-now quiet Super Bowl hero...

Rex Ryan was open, honest and unafraid to answer any question yesterday - almost. The one topic the new Jets coach danced around was his quarterback situation, namely Brett Favre and whether Ryan wants him back. Ryan was complimentary to Favre...

A Jets season ticket-holder for 20 years, Anthony Mazzucca sent a text message to his friend and fellow ticket-holder yesterday morning. "I think we have Tuna Jr. as our head coach now," it said. Jets fans have a new coach in Rex Ryan, but...

About a minute into Rex Ryan's introductory press conference - right after he guaranteed a Jets Super Bowl win during President Obama's stay in office - he called getting the Gang Green head-coaching job a dream come true. He also said he couldn't...

The earliest memory Rex Ryan has is being 6 years old and sitting in the Orange Bowl on an overcast day watching the Jets shock the world in Super Bowl III. His father, Buddy, coached the defensive line that day, and young Rex thought this is the...

No matter how many times Shaquille O'Neal and Amare Stoudemire dunked last night in the first half against the Knicks' undersized frontline last night, it never demoralized coach Mike D'Antoni's team. The Knicks kept fighting back, fighting back...

NOW that Shaq is back, he concedes nothing - not His Shaq-ness to Dwight Howard, not that he has won his last NBA title, and certainly not the myśl that his aged, clogging presence on the run-and-gun Suns inevitably helped run coach Mike...

Pat Burns - the 56-year-old former Devils coach, who previously has fought colon and liver cancers - told a Montreal paper he is now dealing with lung cancer, but he continues to scout for the Devils in Florida. "His spirits, his attitude, his...

NEW ORLEANS - Two or three times each season, Rod Thorn feels the need to address the Nets. This past week was one of those times. In the wake of the controversial benchings of Vince Carter and Devin Harris for the second half Saturday by coach...

One day after change came to Washington, D.C., it visited New Jersey with the Jets' introduction of head coach Rex Ryan. Saying the flashing cameras made him look around for Barack Obama, Ryan planned on a championship White House visit soon...

In today's paper, The Post posed five questions that needed to be answered when the Jets introduced Rex Ryan as head coach. Now that the press conference is over, let's see if we got the answers. WHAT IS THE PLAN WITH BRETT FAVRE? This was the...

Rex Ryan's futbol education began as a ballboy watching his dad's defenses and continued through stops as an assistant coach in places like Richmond, Ky., and Las Vegas, N.M., before reaching the NFL. Today, Ryan's futbol career takes its...

All eyes in the Nets' universe will be on Devin Harris tonight when the Nets take on Chris Paul and the Hornets in New Orleans (8:00, YES, WBBR-1130 AM). And should Harris under-perform, those eyes might turn to coach Lawrence Frank, whose...

Mike D'Antoni knows he'll face an elite zespół tonight, one that's still strong without him as coach.Despite his history with the Suns, the Knicks coach is concerned only about a victory.In a week and a half, there will be a reunion in the Super...

Some of the Devils fans who will welcome back Brendan Shanahan tonight weren't born when he left, pushing 18 years ago. It was the Meadowlands, the uniforms were white, red and green, Tommy McVie was the coach and George H.W. Bush was president...

The Jets are all Rexed up. Gang Green made it official yesterday, announcing Rex Ryan is their newest head coach. The załoga will introduce Ryan at a press conference at 10 a.m. tomorrow at its Florham Park, N.J., headquarters. The announcement...

There's no need to fix something that isn't broken, but there was a need to replace Steve Spagnuolo, who left the Giants to become head coach of the Rams. Wanting to pick up where Spagnuolo left off and keep a good thing going, Tom Coughlin...

Damien Woody is looking forward to Rex Ryan's introductory press conference as much as any Jets fan. The offensive tackle is excited to see his new head coach preria behind the microphone and hear what the new stary has to say. Woody was careful...

ST. LOUIS - The Rams introduced former Giants defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo as their coach yesterday, hoping he is the man to turn the struggling franchise around. "When it was all said and done, I had a good feeling," Spagnuolo said...

PHOENIX - On the morning odbiornik radiowy shows, it was difficult to discern if Ken Whisenhunt had just led the Arizona Cardinals to a stunning berth in Super Bowl XLIII the night before, wearing the headset and oversized play chart all head coaches sport as...

ST. LOUIS -- At the początek of the St. Louis Rams' coaching search, Giants defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo was not really on the list. General manager Billy Devaney assumed the Giants would be back in the Super Bowl and didn't think he could...

PITTSBURGH - The Jets' coaching search ends today. The Jets are expected to officially name Rex Ryan their new head coach this afternoon and hold a formal press conference Wednesday. Reports say Ryan has agreed to a four-year deal with lawyers...

PITTSBURGH - The Jets' coaching search ends today. Unless there is a final-hour collapse, the Jets will name Ravens' defensive coordinator Rex Ryan their new head coach today and have a formal press conference Wednesday. The path was cleared for...

THEY are the defending champion Celtics, who can blow out better teams than the 19-22 Nets twice in three days, whose dominance yesterday would have been as easy to rationalize as Lawrence Frank's team's relative youth. In a league where coaches...

The Giants braced for the loss of defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo a year ago, but the impact never came. They sure felt it yesterday. The hiring of Spagnuolo as the new head coach of the Rams hardly was shocking, but nevertheless...

The message was loud and clear, and sent in the most dramatic fashion. Give no effort, no energy, give up your place on the floor. "I was just totally embarrassed by our performance," Nets coach Lawrence Frank said. "It starts with me, and it...

Another potential roadblock between the Jets and Rex Ryan fell yesterday when the Rams hired Steve Spagnuolo as head coach. The Rams were the only ekipa other than the Jets seriously interested in Ryan as a head coaching candidate. The Rams and...

Another potential roadblock between the Jets and Rex Ryan fell today when the Rams hired Steve Spagnuolo as head coach. The Rams were the only załoga other than the Jets seriously interested in Ryan as a head-coaching candidate. The Rams and the...

The Giants a year ago braced for the loss of defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo but the impact never came. They sure felt it today. The hiring of Spagnuolo as the new head coach of the Rams was hardly shocking but nevertheless reverberated...

Chucky on Broadway? Don't count on it. Tampa Bay fired Jon Gruden yesterday, freeing up another high-profile coach the Jets could target as they continue to search for a head coach, but it is unlikely Gruden will appear on the Jets' radar...

The Nets usually scored down the stretch. That wasn't the problem. The kwestia was Portland almost always scored right back. "Time after time, it was our inability to get stops," said Nets coach Lawrence Frank. "You've got to be flawless...

PHOENIX - As the Warriors and Kings fight over Paul Westhead's services as defensive coach, Mike D'Antoni is showing expertise and innovation in that area he presumably lacked. In the Knicks' recent win over the Celtics, everybody justifiably...

Following two years of straining to see through glasses bought off the shelf, Dick McGuire underwent cataract surgery on his left eye yesterday morning in New Rochelle. The Knicks' hallowed scout (and former player and coach) was home by late...

It turns out the Jets did meet with Steve Spagnuolo this week. According to a source familiar with the team's coaching search, Jets owner Woody Johnson and GM Mike Tannenbaum had a clandestine meeting with Spagnuolo on Tuesday at Johnson's...

Eric Mangini must have something Jim Fassel doesn't. Mangini coached the Jets for three seasons; Gang Green went to the playoffs in his first season; went 4-12 in 2007; then he presided over a collapse this season that saw the Jets go from 8-3...

CLEVELAND - Eric Mangini has hired Jets quarterbacks coach Brian Daboll as Browns offensive coordinator. Mangini, who took over in Cleveland only a week after being fired by the Jets, alsno named Rob Ryan as defensive coordinator and Brad Seely as...

Tom Coughlin is not so sure he wants Plaxico Burress back next season. "I'm not ready to say that," the Giants coach said yesterday on WFAN when asked if he would welcome Burress. "We need to sit down and think about it and talk about that and...

Mike D'Antoni thinks the Knicks need to win more games first, but the coach said he believes David Lee just might merit a spot on the Eastern Conference All-Star team. Lee put together a brilliant all-around effort last night at the Garden...

The Rangers no longer have a bad first power-play unit. They no longer have a bad second unit. The fact is that more than halfway through the season, they have no power-play units at all. Over the past three games, coach Tom Renney has pretty...

It's doubtful any Jets player would describe the Eric Mangini Era as "likable." But that's how Ravens defensive tackle Trevor Pryce described playing for Rex Ryan, the leading candidate to become the next Jets head coach. "It was never us versus...

The Jets' coaching search is in its third week, and it could stretch into next month. The leading candidates for the job are Steve Spagnuolo and Rex Ryan, who cannot be offered the job until the Ravens' season is complete. That could be as late...