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Four years. A 165-88-41 record. Four division titles. Two regular- season conference titles, one in the East and another in the West. One President's Trophy. One Stanley Cup.

Nice resume, eh?

With career accomplishments that would make even the longest-tenured of NHL coaches drool, why was this man under such great pressure and scrutiny? Why did he suddenly lose interest in coaching his team?

Whatever it was, the pressure became too great and finally forced Colorado Avalanche coach Marc Crawford to resign his post last Wednesday.

"It has come down to that fundamental question of 'Do I want to be here? Do I think I should be here?'" Crawford said. "Unfortunately, I came to the conclusion that 'No, I think that it's time to move on."'

But why didn't he want to stay? Why didn't he want to remain at the helm of one of the deepest and most potent teams in the league?

Maybe it was a rift in communications with management. Maybe he couldn't communicate with the players like he used to. Or maybe it was the fact that if you don't live up to expectations in today's National Hockey League, you run the risk of being unemployed before the next season starts.

Since the end of the 1996-1997 regular season, only eight clubs - Carolina, Dallas, Detroit, Edmonton, Los Angeles, Ottawa, St. Louis, and Toronto - have not changed their head coach. That means 18 teams have switched their head men, with some clubs, including Philadelphia and the New York Islanders, changing more than once.

What does it all mean? It means that, with the new "Win Now" attitude of the National Hockey League, you better perform, or else you're in danger of losing your job.

But poor performance isn't always the criteria for firing a head coach anymore. Now, we have to deal with whether or not the man behind the bench and the general manager upstairs in the cozy, air-conditioned, cable-ready owner's box are getting along. If these two aren't on the same page or aren't making regular tee-times together, something might be wrong, and someone's neck, usually the head coach's, is on the chopping block.

No matter what a coach may do for his team, he has little to no job security. He may take his team to a division title for the first time since 1980-1981 and win the Jack Adams Trophy for being the Coach of the Year, but that doesn't mean he won't be fired during the off- season. Or a coach may lead his franchise to its first Stanley Cup Finals appearance since 1987, and just because he had a sudden stroke of honesty and said his team sucked (which they did), he may not be back behind the bench again next season.

When it comes to the coaching situation in the NHL, things always seem to be in a complete state of chaos. Rumor after juicy rumor floats around the open ocean of the media during and after the season, making everyone related to hockey take notice and heed the warning that your job may be next. No matter what a coach does, he is always in danger of being fired. No matter what the real excuse is, the firing is always done in what is known as "the best interest of the team." And that best interest, nine times out of 10, is in the check book.

Now, more than ever, the amount of money a team earns is as important as winning the Stanley Cup. The product that is put on the ice has to be working to its fullest potential, or else nobody will come to see it, meaning less money for the team.

That's a major reason why teams find it necessary to fire their coaches. If something is wrong, it must be the fault of the guy who is running things on the ice. So, he gets whacked. Owners and front office people need to sell a good product to help combat rising players' salaries, so they need to get people into the arena and in front of their television sets to bring in some money. If things aren't working the way they should, a little tweeking needs to be done. Players may be moved, but, most often, it is the coaches that shoulder the blame.

And that is a sad state of affairs.

NHL coaches are constantly being bombarded with pressure and great expectations, some of which they can never live up to. But they must be the saviors. They must lead their teams to hockey's promised land. They must be the ones who take the players on their 25-man rosters under their wings and fly them to hockey glory.

This is what is expected of today's hockey coach. And they must do this as soon as possible, or else they may be swept away so that a new man can be brought in to harness those expectations.

Was Marc Crawford's decision wrong? No, I guess not. He did what he felt was best. He left a team that he led to the Stanley Cup because he didn't feel comfortable with his surroundings anymore. The pressure and the frustrations got to him. But, if you look at it, it's basically what every coach goes through, no matter what logo is on the jerseys of the players in front of them.

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