Mel Pearson Out as Head Coach at Michigan

The axe has finally fallen in Ann Arbor. Mel Pearson has been relieved of his duties as the head coach of the University of Michigan men's ice hockey program.

Pearson, 63, a former Michigan assistant coach who has helmed the Wolverines since 2017, had been working without a contract since his original five-year deal expired earlier this year. He led Michigan to a 31-10-1 overall record last season, including a Big Ten postseason tournament title, plus a trip to the NCAA Frozen Four in Boston where the Wolverines fell in overtime to eventual national champion Denver in the semifinals. That led to an exodus of underclassmen with NCAA eligibility remaining, led by 2021 first overall NHL draft choice Owen Power.

U-M athletic director Warde Manuel announced Pearson's dismissal on Friday, although he had said prior to the expiration of Pearson's contract in early May that the latter was still the head coach, and according to the Detroit Free Press that, as of June, he expected Pearson to remain in that role. U-M's Board of Regents thought otherwise, though, as it voted 8-0 for Pearson's expulsion as head coach, according to Michigan insider John Bacon. Interim university president Mary Sue Coleman apparently agreed with the board, and perhaps those two entities put Manuel in a situation where he had to show Pearson the proverbial door, or else follow him out it.

Also from Bacon: “The investigators make clear their belief that Pearson lied to them repeatedly on serious issues – in one case denying an important conversation took place, until confronted with the tape recording of that conversation.”

According to a 68-page third-party report conducted by the Washington, D.C. legal firm of WilmerHale that had apparently been completed months ago, but not released until recently following various media leaks, there was toxicity in the culture of the Michigan hockey program.

Former Michigan staffer Rick Bancroft, who suddenly retired in June, had been accused of harassing numerous female employees at Michigan, and Pearson apparently took no action to remedy the situation. Pearson himself was also reported to have verbally berated at least one female member of Michigan's athletic staff during his tenure as head coach.

Pearson was also found to have instructed his players to lie on COVID-19 forms prior to the 2021 NCAA tournament, which Michigan ultimately pulled out of playing in.

Pearson may have also played a role in the ouster of former Michigan goaltender Steve Shields, who had been serving as volunteer goaltending coach/director of player development with the Wolverines, before he was fired last year. It is believed that Shields was the one who originally filed a complaint against Pearson regarding how the hockey program was being conducted.

Starting goaltender/team captain Strauss Mann left Michigan before his senior year in 2021-22 due to friction with Pearson over the team’s culture, coupled with a fear of possible retaliation by Pearson that could have impacted Mann’s professional playing prospects. Mann, who played for the U.S. in the 2002 Olympic Winter Games in Beijing, is now under contract to the NHL’s San Jose Sharks, after playing the majority of last season in Sweden.

Pearson, from Vancouver, B.C., played collegiately at Michigan Tech before becoming an assistant there from 1982 to 1988. He then spent the next 23 years at U-M with the legendary Gordon "Red" Berenson, and helped Michigan to NCAA titles in 1996 and 1998 as an assistant before serving as associate head coach with the Wolverines from 1999 to 2011. He finished 99-65-16 in five years in charge of U-M, following six seasons as the head coach at Michigan Tech. His career record as a college head coach stands at 217-157-45 to date over 11 NCAA campaigns, and includes six NCAA tournament berths.

ADDENDUM: Michigan has named former Wolverines player Brandon Naurato as interim head coach. He rejoined his alma mater last season as an assistant coach, after working for the NHL's Detroit Red Wings.