MIAMI — Jacques Martin will not serve as the Florida Panthers coach next season, the Miami Herald reported early Friday.
Martin has been Florida's general manager and its coach, but the Herald reported on its Web site that team owner Alan Cohen told season ticket holders Thursday night that Martin's duties would be split.
"More than anything, we needed a change as coach," Cohen told the newspaper after the event. "Jacques has done a good job as GM. That's the bottom line."
Cohen brought in Martin as coach and Mike Keenan as general manager in May 2004. Martin assumed both duties when Keenan resigned after a little more than two years running the team's day-to-day operations.
"Jacques and I have talked about splitting the responsibilities and him staying on as GM," Cohen wrote in an e-mail to The Herald. "In that role, he would be responsible for selecting the new coach."
Florida went 38-35-9 to finish with 85 points this season, nine behind Southeast Division champion Washington.
The Panthers haven't won a playoff game since 1997, and haven't reached the postseason since 2000.
