9 out of 10 times, that's usually how it isI don't know what people are crowing about. When a "company" decides to take a new direction, there is usually movement with the staff. Whether done by phone or to one's face is irrelevant. If you work retail, your boss will usually phone you and tell you not to bother coming in the next day. (To which you usually reply to yourself, "Great! I can sleep in!").
And so the axe falleth on Jarvis, Lever, and Ron "the Dog" Wilson. It doesn't surprise me, really. Jacques Martin reviewed the staff and made his choices and then it was up to Bob to break the news to them regardless of his personal feelings. Yea it may sound cold, but it's nothing personal. Business is business, and Martin is looking for who he will want next to him to deal with his team. And coming from a guy who has very little ties with any of the staff members, he's working from a clean slate.
This isn't a knock on their abilities at all. Everyone knows they're great coaches. But a decision comes to try something new. With a new head coach, usually comes new ideas and a new system. Usually they want to bring in their own guys. The fact they kept the assistants for him to see if he could use them is classy enough. In the end, they look to change how goaltending is handled, probably looking for an actual defenseman for a defensive coach instead of just another defensive forward, and with the new coach's system, he'll probably want this sent to the "kids" in Hamilton so that everyone will be relatively on the same page. Of course it's disappointing, especially for Lever and Wilson who have done well with the Bulldogs. Why, Wilson has been around even longer than Lever, really... But to run something properly one can't allow their personal feelings to get in the way.
And, like his players, Martin appears to have taken a shine to Captain Kirk, as he's the only one staying. (Sergio Momesso, who was promoted to assistant from player development, is still in limbo pending the new Bulldogs' coach). This provides Martin with someone close to players he doesn't know yet. Muller is the bridge that binds them.
Wow, three more days until the first overall is called. Time flies when you're bored out of your mind!