Red Gendron offered job to replace Tim Whitehead as hockey coach at Maine

According to multiple sources, the University of Maine will offer the position of head hockey coach to Yale associate head coach Red Gendron. The New England College alum was chosen over recently fired Ohio State coach Mark Osiecki. Gendron is a 1979 graduate NEC, a Division III school in Henniker, NH.

Gendron served on Shawn Walsh's staff at Maine from 1990-1993. In his final season in Orono, the Black Bears went 42-1-2 and won the NCAA National Championship. That team is widely remembered as one of the best ever in the history of college hockey.

Gendron left Maine after the 1993 season to work in the NHL. Most notably, Gendron's fingerprints were on the Stanley Cup in 1995, 2000 and 2003 while a part of the New Jersey Devils staff. He garnered head coaching experience with New Jersey's AHL affiliate, the Albany Devils, as well. Before returning to the college game, Gendron was the head coach of the Indiana Ice, a junior team that competes in the USHL.

Most recently, Gendron was Keith Allain's top assistant at Yale as the Bulldogs won their first title in school history. Prior to that, he was an assistant at UMass-Amherst under head coach Don "Toot" Cahoon.

A former UMass player I spoke with Friday night, on the condition of anonymity, said, "Red really knows the game, the ins-and-outs, and gets the most out of his players. We really respected him and he'll turn that program around," he said.

Gendron, who has his master's in educational administration from Maine, also played baseball at NEC and is fluent in French. His knowledge of the French language could be pivotal in re-establishing a pipeline in Quebec and the rest of Canada.

Bob Corkum was the Interim Head Coach while the process to find a replacement for Tim Whitehead was ongoing. The former Black Bear had been an Associate Head Coach on Tim Whitehead's staff for the past six years. It is not yet known for sure what will happen with his job or that of Dan Kerluke, another Black Bears alum. The unfortunate side effects of a coaching change are the possibility that assistants could lose their job as the new coach will look to bring in his own staff.

Jeff Cox will have continuing coverage of the situation at Maine. Follow him on twitter @JeffCoxSBNation.