Technically, Bob Murray was coaching the Anaheim Ducks in an interim tag after Carlyle was dismissed. But, most fans in Southern California knew that Murray wasn’t going to be the permanent head coach for the Ducks. Murray was bound to bring in someone else to take over.
Instead of hiring outside of the organization, he decided to promote Dallas Eakins. Eakins had been the head coach of the San Diego Gulls, the AHL affiliate of the Anaheim Ducks. He had coached the Gulls from 2015 thru 2019. During his four seasons in San Diego, he helped get the Gulls to the playoffs three out of four seasons.