Robert Emile Francis was an ice hockey

Ice hockey

Ice hockey, often referred to as hockey, is a team sport played on ice, in which skaters use wooden or composite sticks to shoot a hard rubber puck into their opponent's net. The game is played between two teams of six players each. Five members of each team skate up and down the ice trying to take...

 head coach of the Phoenix Coyotes

Phoenix Coyotes

The Phoenix Coyotes are a professional ice hockey team based in Glendale, Arizona. They are members of the Pacific Division of the Western Conference of the National Hockey League . They play their home games at Jobing.com Arena....

 from June 1999 to February 2004. He became the first Coyotes coach to win the Jack Adams Award

Jack Adams Award

The Jack Adams Award is awarded annually to the National Hockey League coach "adjudged to have contributed the most to his team's success." It has been awarded 37 times to 32 different coaches. The winner is selected by a poll of the National Hockey League Broadcasters Association at the end of the...

 in 2002. He is the son of former NHL general manager, coach Emile Francis

Emile Francis

Emile "The Cat" Francis is a former player, coach, and general manager in the National Hockey League, most notably with the New York Rangers....

.

On April 26, 2006 Francis signed a two year-contract to coach HIFK

HIFK (ice hockey)

HIFK is an ice hockey team based in Helsinki, Finland. The team plays at Helsinki Ice Hall. It was founded in 1897...

 in the Finnish SM-liiga

SM-liiga

The SM-liiga is the top professional ice hockey league in Finland. As of March 2008, it is ranked by the IIHF as the second strongest league in Europe. It was created in 1975 to replace the SM-sarja, which was fundamentally an amateur league. The SM-liiga is not directly overseen by the Finnish Ice...

. On December 19, 2006 Francis's contract was terminated (http://www.hifk.fi/news/files/10830.php).

NHL coaching career

The Coyotes had chosen to hire Bob Francis, who over the past 2 years, had been the assistant coach for the Boston Bruins. His only NHL experience was with the Coyotes. Francis was fired in 2004 after a slow start, and was replaced by assistant coach Rick Bowness.

Team

|Regular season

PHX Phoenix Coyotes The Phoenix Coyotes are a professional ice hockey team based in Glendale, Arizona. They are members of the Pacific Division of the Western Conference of the National Hockey League . They play their home games at Jobing.com Arena....

1999–2000

82

39

31

8

4

90

3rd in Pacific

Lost in first round

PHX Phoenix Coyotes The Phoenix Coyotes are a professional ice hockey team based in Glendale, Arizona. They are members of the Pacific Division of the Western Conference of the National Hockey League . They play their home games at Jobing.com Arena....

2000–01

82

35

27

17

3

90

4th in Pacific

Missed Playoffs

PHX Phoenix Coyotes The Phoenix Coyotes are a professional ice hockey team based in Glendale, Arizona. They are members of the Pacific Division of the Western Conference of the National Hockey League . They play their home games at Jobing.com Arena....

2001–02

82

40

27

9

6

95

2nd in Pacific

Lost in first round

PHX Phoenix Coyotes The Phoenix Coyotes are a professional ice hockey team based in Glendale, Arizona. They are members of the Pacific Division of the Western Conference of the National Hockey League . They play their home games at Jobing.com Arena....

2002–03

82

31

35

11

5

78

4th in Pacific

Missed Playoffs

PHX Phoenix Coyotes The Phoenix Coyotes are a professional ice hockey team based in Glendale, Arizona. They are members of the Pacific Division of the Western Conference of the National Hockey League . They play their home games at Jobing.com Arena....

2003–04

62

20

24

15

3

(68)

5th in Pacific

(fired)

Total

390

165

144

60

21

Personal

Although he was born in North Battleford, Saskatchewan, he spent much of his youth growing up in Long Beach, New York

Long Beach, New York

Long Beach is a city in Nassau County, New York. Just south of Long Island, it is located on Long Beach Barrier Island, which is the westernmost of the outer barrier islands off Long Island's South Shore. As of the United States 2010 Census, the city population was 33,275...

, where his father was coaching the New York Rangers

New York Rangers

The New York Rangers are a professional ice hockey team based in the borough of Manhattan in New York, New York, USA. They are members of the Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League . Playing their home games at Madison Square Garden, the Rangers are one of the...

. Bob Francis holds both Canadian and American citizenship.