Firebirds coach felt like Billy Martin, getting fired, hired

By foxsports
Published

FLINT, Mich. (AP) Flint Firebirds coach John Gruden says he felt like Billy Martin.

Fired one day. Hired the next.

Gruden and his Ontario Hockey League team were back on the ice Wednesday, trying to regain a sense of normalcy.

Firebirds owner Rolf Nilsen fired Gruden on Sunday night following a win. The players responded by marching up the team's front office and throwing their jerseys on the floor in a unified protest. The next day, Gruden got his job back and the team released a statement in which Nilsen said he made an irresponsible mistake.

Former New York Yankees owner George Steinbrenner fired Martin five times between 1975 and 1987, fired him four times and let him resign once.

---

Follow Larry Lage at http://www.twitter.com/larrylage