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RALEIGH, N.C. -- Ron Francis wasted little time putting his stamp on the Carolina Hurricanes. One week into his new job as general manager, Francis fired coach Kirk Muller and most of his staff. Now leading a franchise that has made the playoffs just once in eight years, Francis cited the need for a "fresh start" and warned that nobody on the roster -- from the marquee names, to the grinders at the end of the bench -- is untouchable. "I dont think changing the coaches lets the players off the hook," Francis said. "I think there has to be a lot of responsibility on their shoulders as well to turn this thing around. Hopefully we can do that going forward." Francis, a Hall of Fame player and former captain and assistant coach with the Hurricanes, took control of the team last week when Jim Rutherford stepped aside after a two-decade run as its GM. As part of his first big housecleaning move, assistants John MacLean and Dave Lewis also were fired and goaltending coach Greg Stefan was reassigned back to the teams pro scouting department. Rod BrindAmour, a third-year assistant who was the captain of Carolinas only Stanley Cup-winning team in 2006, was retained because Francis said "Roddy really didnt have, in my estimation, a prominent role on this staff." Francis says its "an open search at this point," is looking for "a guy whos a teacher" with strong communication and leadership qualities and ideally would like to hire his new coach before the June 27-28 draft. "I dont really have anybody in mind," he said. "Well start (with) a few names were putting on the list, and well go forward looking at that list and see who is the best fit for our team going forward." Muller was 80-80-27 in three seasons with the Hurricanes, who havent made the playoffs since 2009, the longest active drought in the Eastern Conference. Carolina finished 13th in the 16-team East this season. "The biggest thing was our inconsistency," Francis said. "Some nights we looked like a great team and other nights, we really struggled, looked like we didnt know how to play the game at times." Muller, 48, made six All-Star teams during a 19-year career with six clubs, most notably New Jersey and Montreal. He had never been a head coach in the NHL and was in his first season coaching the Milwaukee Admirals of the AHL when he was hired during the 2011-12 season to replace the fired Paul Maurice. The relentlessly positive Muller spent the past month in limbo, saying in mid-April that upper management had not told him anything about his job status and that he was going about his business as if he would remain the coach. While owner Peter Karmanos Jr. said late in the season that he liked the coaching staff, he added last week that it would be entirely Francis call whether to retain Muller. During his formal introduction as GM, Francis said his impending decision on Mullers status "needs due process." Mullers final year was plagued by subpar years from the four highest-paid players on the roster -- forwards Alexander Semin and Eric and Jordan Staal, and goalie Cam Ward. When Ward was asked during his exit interview if it was tough for Muller to get his message across in the dressing room, the goalie said "for me, obviously, Im going to avoid that one." Francis said he didnt sense much friction between Muller and the players. "You look at our team, theres guys who didnt play well. They were told that by us in the exit meetings," the GM said. "Theres always going to be situations where, as a player, if you dont like the coach, youve still got to perform." Bruce Smith Jersey . He just didnt expect them to be this good. 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Ramon Humber Jersey . -- Caris LeVert had 14 points and a career-high 11 rebounds for his first career double-double, and No.NEW YORK -- When Troy Vincent mentioned in April the NFLs interest in establishing a developmental league, he couldnt have imagined the response it would get. "I got more than 100 proposals," he said with a laugh. "I think that shows it is worth a look." And that is what it will get, although the NFL has no timetable for establishing such a league. Why is it likely to get off the ground? Vincent, who recently became the NFLs head of football operations, cites a bunch of reasons, from training coaches and officials to finding players to testing rules. "It would be an opportunity to enhance our game on many levels, to develop the future, preserve and innovate the game," he said. Steelers coach Mike Tomlin would like to see it happen. "Im in favour of anything that increases opportunities for guys to grow and develop," Tomlin said, "and ultimately improve the product of our game for our fans, particularly at some positions." Notably, quarterback. Tomlin is well aware of how former Super Bowl QBs Kurt Warner and Jake Delhomme were helped by their time in the minors. "Quarterbacks often dont come to you ready-made, particularly with the way college football is played now with so many spread offences and half-field reads and so forth," Tomlin said. Tomlin is right that the NFL relies on the college game for developing the skills of potential pro players. That wont change but, as the number of undrafted free agents who populate NFL rosters shows -- 31.4 per cent in 2014 -- there are hundreds of players who would benefit from having a place to showcase themselves if the NFL doesnt come calling. Not since NFL Europe disappeared in 2007 has there been an NFL-affiliated place where players could go to prove themselves worthy of a look by one of the leagues 32 teams. Same thing for officials and coaches. "Thats what NFL Europe was intended to be, a developmental league," said Falcons defensive co-ordinator Mike Nolan, a former head coach in the NFL. "I thought it was great for coaches, I thought it was great for players, I thought it was great for officials. It wasnt my money they were spending on it, but I always thought the time was worth it. " There are dozens of questions accompanying any project: When and where would the league play games? How many teams would be in a developmental league? Who would play and coach? Would television be interested? Marc Ganis, president of SportsCorp, a Chicago-based consulting firm, has a strong relationship with many team owners. He envisions a league being established for spring play, with all of the teams supplying players they want to see more from. "After the NFL season and before the training camps, say March to July," Ganis said. "Its an open time in the sports schedule. The colleges are done and the NBA and NHL playoffs wind down. "A league in the fall is really tough. It is not like baseball, where teams cann be calling up players every day from the minors.dddddddddddd There would be lots of restrictions on player movement then." This wont be an international venture, either. In fact, it probably would be done regionally, cutting down on travel costs. "I do envision some sort of developmental league, based maybe in Florida or Texas or Arizona," said former NFL general manager Phil Savage, who now is the executive director of the Senior Bowl. "Anywhere from four to six teams; I dont think more than eight. "I see it as tightly managed, with not a ton of travel. And I dont think it would matter the size of the stadiums and crowds, because its a minor league, a place to look at players from the lower end of the roster or players trying to make it into the NFL." Ganis says not to worry about TV interest. "The networks have open time in the spring, and its an NFL product. There would be room on the networks for games on the weekend, and on the cable outlets for weeknights," he said. "Theres really a dearth of major sports on the weekends then. "I think you would see all the networks with cable channels -- CBS, Fox, NBC, and of course NFL Network -- to be interested. And ESPN would likely want in on the mix, although they need it the least." Savage was most intrigued by Vincents suggestion that an academy for training players, coaches and officials could accompany a D-league. But he foresees such an academy being held during the NFL season. "It would be in one centralized location and these players go there and they keep their football life afloat for another few months or another season," Savage said. "And maybe they show enough to play in the developmental league the next spring. Or maybe they get discovered for the NFL." One major caveat would be the status of the players. Would they be NFL Players Association members? What sort of medical coverage would they have? What would their salaries be? Savage believes the league, the union and the American Football Coaches Association -- the organization for college coaches -- could work out a strategy that would lead to a developmental league by the end of the decade, perhaps much sooner. "I think it could be a really neat thing and can help a lot of players," he said. Rams coach Jeff Fisher, co-chairman of the NFLs influential competition committee, agrees. "Theres been discussions over the last couple years. I dont know what direction its going, but I think we have a need for it," Fisher said. "I think it would be beneficial from a young players standpoint. ... if you have to make an outside roster move to get somebody thats in shape that you can evaluate on film." Vincent, naturally, is in a position to help bring a league, and an academy, into existence. "If it is something sustainable and it is good for the sport, and we can make it work," Vincent said, "its worth pursuing." 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