Report: Stars warned Montgomery about public drinking episodes

Jim Montgomery had been warned.

Dallas Stars general manager Jim Nill had asked the team's former head coach to change his behavior and stop with his excessive public drinking episodes prior to relieving him of his duties, sources told Mac Engel of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram.

Montgomery was fired for "unprofessional conduct" Dec. 10. He announced Jan. 3 that he'd entered rehab for alcohol abuse and called his firing "appropriate."

The Stars never revealed what Montgomery did to lose his job, but sources told Engel there was a specific incident that got him fired. However, no one in the organization has disclosed the particulars out of respect for the coach and his family.

Montgomery's after-hours behavior and relationship with alcohol was an issue during his first season as the team's head coach in 2018-19. During the playoffs last spring, Montgomery was frequently seen "drinking a bit too much" at the bar Moxies, which is owned by Stars owner Tom Gaglardi, according to Engel. That behavior reportedly led to Nill essentially issuing a warning to the 50-year-old.

The club knew Montgomery had struggled with drinking before he became the Stars' head coach in 2018, and was also aware when he was hired that Montgomery was arrested and charged with driving while intoxicated in Florida back in 2008.

Montgomery was previously the head coach at the University of Denver, where he won a national championship in 2017.

Dallas has gone 7-3-1 under Rick Bowness since Montgomery's dismissal.

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