A coach needs either to have the players' respect as a person or to supply the hockey knowledge that gives the players confidence. Ideally, a coach should provide both, but Bill Barber seemed to lose the respect of the Philadelphia Flyers players early in the season. And when they went to him for answers, he wasn't able to help them with some of the technical issues they were facing on the ice.

A number of veteran Flyers players told me their locker room was the best they had ever seen because the athletes cared about one another and about winning. But to gain the players' respect, a coach has to respect the players -- and I don't think the players felt Barber respected them.

Stark sarcasm and negativism usually don't work, especially at the pro level. And those tools worked against Barber, who had a tough year with his wife passing away and with other hockey issues.

Even though the Flyers have been a Stanley Cup contender each of the last five years, they can't seem to keep a coach for more than two years. Barber is now the fifth coaching casualty since 1997. It has to stop at some point.

We have to wait and see what other decisions the Flyers ownership will make, but something in the whole culture has to change. They seem like an organization that just can't get it right.

Bill Clement is a hockey analyst for ESPN. He played 11 seasons in the NHL as a center and won two Stanley Cups with the Philadelphia Flyers.