EHC Red Bull München: Don Jackson ends coaching career

Friday, 28. April 2023 | EHC Red Bull München: Don Jackson ends coaching career

Don Jackson ends his coaching career DEL record coach remains with the Red Bulls// DON JACKSONDon Jackson is leaving the coaching bench. After winning his ninth DEL championship, the 66-year-old has decided to end his career behind the boards.

However, the record-breaking coach of the German Ice Hockey League will remain with the Red Bulls. As Head of Coaching Development, he will bring his experience, expertise and winning mentality to coaching development throughout our organization in the future.

Danke, Don Jackson | Red Bulls sagen ihrem Meister-Coach Lebewohl

// AKTUELLES

"Wants to spend more time with my family"

Don Jackson: "The time has come. The decision was easy for me, the emotions are always part of it. I would like to first thank my wife Nancy, my family and the entire Red Bulls organization for their support. I am living the third third of my life and now I want to spend more time with my family. However, I'm not leaving the organization completely and I'm already looking forward to coming back to Munich one day."

In his 18 years as a coach in the DEL, Jackson coached a total of 1072 games. More than anyone else. 705 times (66 percent) his team cheered after the final siren. However, the 3:1 triumph over ERC Ingolstadt on April 23, 2023 will have been the last of his career.

Jackson moved to Munich nine years ago. He came with the reputation of five title wins (2008, 2009, 2011, 2012, 2013) with his former team Eisbären Berlin. With the Red Bulls, the mastermind reached the final of the German Ice Hockey League six times and even made it to the final of the Champions League in 2019. In 2016, 2017 and 2018, he celebrated the second championship triple of his career with Munich. Last Sunday, Jackson lifted the DEL Cup for the fourth time with Red Bull München and the ninth time overall.

Red Bull München: Pressekonferenz über Jackson-Zukunft

// DEL - INTERVIEW

"It was the most beautiful nine years"

Christian Winkler, Managing Director Sports Red Bull Ice Hockey: "They were the most beautiful nine years we have experienced as a club so far. What Don has done for all of us during this time is incredible. It was clear to us from the very beginning that we wanted to keep Don Jackson, the person and the personality, with us. It's not just his successes that make him unique. The coach is world class, the person is even better. He never took center stage and made all the decisions for the team, the club and the organization - come stormy weather or sunshine. I am incredibly grateful to him for everything he has done for me personally and for the Red Bulls over the past nine years. I'm just as happy that he'll continue to be by our side. He laid the foundation for all that we are today."

Jackson, a two-time Stanley Cup winner as a player alongside Wayne Gretzky in 1984 and 1985, began his coaching career in 1989 in the East Coast Hockey League (ECHL) as coach of the Knoxville Cherokees. Just two years later, the family man joined the Quebec Nordiques in the NHL, where he served as co-coach. Subsequently, the former world-class defenseman worked for several NHL clubs as an assistant coach. In early 2005, the Eisbären Berlin brought him to the DEL. After being behind the boards as coach at the Düsseldorfer EG between 2005 and 2007, Jackson returned to the German capital. The rest is history.