Oshawa, Ont., product leaves bench boss role,
remains GM
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| Derek Keenan with the NLL Cup in 2018. |
With that noted, change seems to be inevitable in life. On Friday, the Rush announced Keenan was stepping down from his role of head coach.
The 58-year-old product of Oshawa, Ont., will remain with
the powerhouse National Lacrosse League club as general manager.
Taking over as head coach will be Jeff McComb. The
51-year-old McComb, who is from Pickering, Ont., has been with the Rush for the
last seven seasons and was their assistant coach responsible for offence.
Former Rush captain Jimmy Quinlan has been hired as the
team’s new assistant coach responsible for offence. The 38-year-old Quinlan
last played for the Rush in 2013, when the franchise as still located in
Edmonton.
His #81 is retired by the team.
Following his playing career, the Sherwood Park, Alta., product
proceeded to spend five seasons with the Rush as an assistant coach responsible
for defence.
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| Derek Keenan checks out action from the Rush bench in 2018. |
Way back in June of 2009, Keenan was hired by the Rush to be
the team’s head coach and general manager. He guided the club to an NLL
championship in 2015 in the squad’s final season in Edmonton.
Keenan led the Rush to another NLL title in 2016, which the
franchise’s first season playing out of the SaskTel Centre in Saskatoon as the
Saskatchewan Rush. The Rush captured the NLL crown again in 2018 under Keenan’s
leadership.
As the Rush bench boss, Keenan was viewed as the ultimate
player’s coach. He treats his players with so much respect that the players
don’t want to let him down.
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| Derek Keenan speaks at a Rush rally in 2017. |
As Rush general manager, Keenan focuses on bringing in good
people and his goal is that those players become better persons during their
time as Rush team members.
Keenan came to the Rush with boatloads of positive
experiences in the game. As a player, he was a member of the Buffalo Bandits
when they won NLL titles in 1992 and 1993.
He doubled as a player and assistant coach when the Toronto
Rock won the NLL crown in 1999. Keenan was an assistant coach for the Rock’s
NLL championship wins in 2000, 2002 and 2003.
Keenan was inducted into the Canadian Lacrosse Hall of Fame
in 2012 before the Rush moved on to win their three NLL titles. As both a
player and a coach, Keenan has been a part of nine NLL title wins.
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| Derek Keenan speaks to the media after a game in 2017. |
The Rush franchise posted a 16-48 regular season record in
their first four campaigns of existence before Keenan came on board. In
Keenan’s first season with the team in 2010, the Rush made the playoffs for the
first time with a 10-6 record.
The effect Keenan had on the Rush players showed through in
the 2015 campaign. The Rush entered that season with expectations to contend
for the NLL title with their only drawback being their youthfulness at the
time.
Keenan’s wife, Wendy, passed away on Jan. 2, 2015 due to her
battle with Stage 4 pancreatic cancer. Derek had taken a leave of absence from
the Rush to tend to Wendy in November of 2014.
After she passed away, Derek returned to the Rush bench to
resume his duties as head coach and general manager for a regular season game
on Jan. 24, 2015. The Rush rallied around their coach for the rest of that
campaign resulting in the team’s first NLL title win.
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| Derek Keenan gives a Rush player encouragement on the bench. |
“It was a very difficult year for our family, because we
lost my wife and my kids’ mom and that was difficult, but we won that year,”
said Keenan in a 2018 interview. “I think the amount that our players put into
that season in terms of kind of her memory was so strong with our group.
“I think that was really important to our team, and it was
really important to me. It kind of started a legacy then that we were a very
driven group. That was a big memory for sure.
“The 2015 championship I think was really, really huge for
us.”
When the Rush moved to Saskatchewan, Keenan quickly became a
household name in the province.
Keenan’s kind and personable demeanor was one
of the factors that helped the people of Saskatchewan develop a love in for the
Rush.
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| Derek Keenan hugs Rush goalie Evan Kirk after the 2018 NLL title win. |
He would also take the time to explain the ins and outs of
the lacrosse game, which also helped draw you into the sport.
After winning the NLL title in 2016, the Rush were able to
pick Derek’s son, Ryan, with the first overall selection in the 2016 NLL Draft.
With Derek behind the bench and Ryan on the floor as a skilled forward, the
Rush captured their third NLL title in 2018.
Derek will also tell you he had a lot of help in creating a
powerhouse program in the Rush. He will spread credit to his assistant coaches
and to team owner Bruce Urban.
Of course, Keenan guides a terrific group of players like
captain Chris Corbeil, Mike Messenger, Jeff Cornwall, Robert Church, Ryan
Dilks, Evan Kirk, Mark Matthews, Jeremy Thompson, Jeff Shattler, Ben McIntosh and
Matt Hossack.
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| Derek Keenan speaks at the Rush victory rally in 2018. |
He was the NLL coach of the year in 2006, 2010, 2014 and
2018 and the NLL’s general manager of the year in 2006, 2010 and 2014. The 2010
NLL coach of the year award was shared with Chris Hall of the Washington
Stealth.
It was just too bad real life threw a wrench into how
Keenan’s final campaign behind the Rush bench went.
The 2019-20 NLL season was suspended on March 12 and
ultimately the remainder of the campaign was cancelled due to the coronavirus
(COVID-19) pandemic. The Rush were 7-3 when NLL play was halted.
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| Derek Keenan and the Rush pose for a championship team picture in 2018. |
Combined with the support legendary fan Joyce Souka, who is
best known as “Grandma Rush,” and the rest of Rush Nation, you can already see
the Rush quickly hitting high gear when they return to play.
If you have any comments you would like to pass along about this post, feel free to email them to stankssports@gmail.com.
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