Tell me why Cam Neely's job is safe

[Lose Remerswaal]

Cam Neely is one of my favorite Bruins of all time and is deservedly in the Hockey Hall of Fame.  10 years or so after retiring from play, without any managerial experience that I am familiar with, he was named Vice President of the Bruins.  3 years later he was promoted to President, I believe filling the vacancy left by Harry Sinden a few years earlier.
 
I don't understand his qualifications to be President of the Bruins and to be one of the guys making the decision to replace the General Manager, without any fingers pointing at him as a possible target for replacement.
 
Is his position really mostly as a figurehead?  A hero to inspire the troops, to meet and greet sponsors and season ticket holders and to be the face of the franchise?  Or is he really making these decisions like all the articles referring to "Cam and Charlie" suggest he is?

 

[lexrageorge]

I'm going to guess, based solely on what I've read, heard, etc.  
 
As VP, Neely was originally given some duties unrelated to personnel.  I believe they were more in the marketing, fan relations and related functions, but I could be wrong.  My guess is that both Jacobs the Dad and Jacobs the Son took a liking to him.  Probably a combination of his personality, how he handled his responsibilities, interacted with the staff, etc.  Probably got expanded responsibilities as time went on.  As time went on, I think two things became obvious:  Jacobs Jr. was going to be the big boss in the near future, and Jacobs Jr. wanted Neely as his right hand man.  
 
So, Neely was made President, and was subsequently put in direct charge of all the non-personnel operations.  He was also ostensibly Chiarelli's new boss; but Chia still had complete control over personnel decisions.  Probably created a strange vibe at times.  I'm guessing they could live with the arrangement as long as it all worked.  When things got difficult, I can certainly envision Neely going to Jacobs and saying "Look, you tell me that I'm responsible for the day to day operations of the entire organization.  But, if that's the case, I need a GM I can work with, and Chiarelli is not that guy for these reasons".  
 
I don't believe he is planning to make all the personnel decisions.  But I think he's going to find a GM that he feels he can work with more closely.  

 

[Reardon's Beard]

I'm going to guess, based solely on what I've read, heard, etc.  
 
As VP, Neely was originally given some duties unrelated to personnel.  I believe they were more in the marketing, fan relations and related functions, but I could be wrong.  My guess is that both Jacobs the Dad and Jacobs the Son took a liking to him.  Probably a combination of his personality, how he handled his responsibilities, interacted with the staff, etc.  Probably got expanded responsibilities as time went on.  As time went on, I think two things became obvious:  Jacobs Jr. was going to be the big boss in the near future, and Jacobs Jr. wanted Neely as his right hand man.  
 
So, Neely was made President, and was subsequently put in direct charge of all the non-personnel operations.  He was also ostensibly Chiarelli's new boss; but Chia still had complete control over personnel decisions.  Probably created a strange vibe at times.  I'm guessing they could live with the arrangement as long as it all worked.  When things got difficult, I can certainly envision Neely going to Jacobs and saying "Look, you tell me that I'm responsible for the day to day operations of the entire organization.  But, if that's the case, I need a GM I can work with, and Chiarelli is not that guy for these reasons".  
 
I don't believe he is planning to make all the personnel decisions.  But I think he's going to find a GM that he feels he can work with more closely.  

 
This sounds spot on from everything I've seen and heard. Jacobs the Younger is not versed in this yet, and from the press conference, I'm not sure he should be doing many public statements either. I think you're spot on that Neely is the King's Hand and he is going to have as much input as he wants going forward.

 

[behindthepen]

The above is consistent with what Haggs was saying this morning on T&R. This process is designed to get Neely more influence over the GM, compared to where he was with Chia.