Wayne Gretzky isn't the only star athlete to switch to coaching after his playing career was over. He had a 143-161-24 record over four NHL seasons for a .473 winning percentage.
Here's a look at how other star-athletes-turned-coaches have fared (courtesy of ESPN's Stats & Information folks):
NBA
Jerry West
Went 145-101 in three seasons as coach of Los Angeles Lakers (8-14 in the playoffs).
Larry Bird
Went 147-67 in three seasons as head coach of the Indiana Pacers; reached the 2000 NBA Finals, where Indiana lost to Los Angeles in six games.
Magic Johnson
Was 5-11 as coach of the Lakers in 1993-94.
Lenny Wilkens
Posted a 1,332-1,155 record as a head coach; he won two conference titles and one NBA title, in 1979.
MLB
Frank Robinson
Went 1,065-1,176 as manager of four teams over 16 seasons.
Ted Williams
Went 273-364 as manager of the Washington Senators/Texas Rangers over four seasons.
Eddie Mathews
Went 149-161 in three seasons as Atlanta Braves manager.
Mel Ott
Went 464-530 in seven seasons as New York Giants manager.
NFL
Sammy Baugh
Was 18-24 in three seasons as coach of the N.Y. Titans and Houston Oilers.
Otto Graham
Went 17-22-3 in three seasons as Washington Redskins coach.
Forrest Gregg
Went 75-85-1 in 11 years as coach; won one AFC conference title.
Art Shell
Went 56-52 in seven seasons as coach of the Oakland Raiders.
Other notes on The Great One's coaching career
• The Coyotes finished above .500 once in Gretzky's four seasons as coach, in 2007-08 (38-37-7).
• The Coyotes have not made the playoffs since the 2001-02 season, which is tied for the second-longest active NHL postseason drought. The franchise hasn't won a playoff series since it was the Winnipeg Jets (1987). The longest drought is eight seasons; the Florida Panthers haven't made the playoffs since 1999-00.
• In Gretzky's four seasons as coach, the Phoenix Coyotes had a .473 winning percentage, better than only the St. Louis Blues (.471) and the Los Angeles Kings (.468) in that span. Here are other notable NHL coaches who had 1,000 or more career points as players, and how they fared behind the bench (with where they rank in career NHL points):
1. Wayne Gretzky (143-161-24)
10. Phil Esposito (24-21-0)
15. Bryan Trottier (21-26-7)
T-26. Denis Savard (65-66-16)
32. Alex Delvecchio (82-131-32)
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