Chris MacFarland Confirms Nashville Predators Coaching Staff Will Stay
One of the biggest questions of the Nashville Predators’ offseason was answered Tuesday evening.
Predators new General Manager and President of Hockey Operations Chris MacFarland confirmed in an interview with NHL Network on Sirius XM radio that head coach Andrew Brunette will stay as the head coach for Nashville.
“I talked to Andrew Brunette for a long time yesterday. I’m looking forward to getting to know him next week and in development camp and moving forward,” MacFarland told NHL Network radio.
Additionally, MacFarland confirmed that all three Predators assistant coaches, Luke Richardson, Derek MacKenzie and Darby Hendrickson will stay in their roles.
MacFarland is entering just his third week as general manager and president of hockey operations with the Predators. When he first got hired at the start of June, many wondered if there would be any coaching changes before the 2026-2027 season began.
As it turns out, the answer to that question is a no.
Just because Brunette is staying as the head coach for now does not make this season any less important for his coaching career, though. The pressure to impress MacFarland in his first year in charge of the organization seems to be there. If the Predators do not make an improvement from this past season, Brunette’s seat could get quite hot.
Brunette became the head coach of the Nashville Predators in May 2023. In three seasons of coaching the Predators, he has made the playoffs just one time and it came in his first season in Nashville. That year, the Predators were first round exits against the Vancouver Canucks.
MacFarland is hoping that he and Brunette build a roster that can make it back to the Stanley Cup Playoffs. Nashville finished the 2025-2026 season four points outside the playoff picture with a 38-34-10 record.
If Brunette is able to get his team back the postseason, it will be interesting to see how long of a leash MacFarland has with Brunette in the coming seasons. MacFarland helped build the Colorado Avalanche to be one of the best teams in the league and is hoping he can do the same thing in the Music City.
But first, it is an all-important offseason for the Predators. The moves that the organization makes in the draft and in free agency will be looked at closely and will serve as the building blocks for MacFarland’s tenure.
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Graham Baakko is a lead writer for both Nashville Predators On SI and Vanderbilt Commodores On SI, primarily covering football, basketball and baseball. Graham graduated from the University of Alabama, where he wrote for The Crimson White, WVUA-FM, WVUA 23 as he covered a variety of Crimson Tide sports. He also covered South Carolina athletics as an intern for GamecockCentral.