Ontario Hockey League

Nolan became head coach of the Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds in 1988, as a mid-season replacement and coached there until the end of the 1994 season. Nolan led the Greyhounds to the three consecutive Memorial Cup tournament berths, winning the Canadian national junior championship in 1993.

Buffalo Sabres, 1995–1997

Nolan was hired as an assistant coach by the Hartford Whalers prior to the 1994–95 NHL season. After one season in Hartford, he accepted the position of head coach with the NHL's Buffalo Sabres. In his second season in Buffalo, he led the team to the Northeast Division title and was awarded the Jack Adams Trophy as the league's top coach.

His relationships with all-star goaltender Dominik Hašek and general manager John Muckler, however, were strained. Hašek, who sided with Muckler, stated in an interview during 1997 NHL Awards Ceremony that "it would be better for me if he (Nolan) did not return." Muckler, who had just been voted the NHL's 1996–97 Executive of the Year, was the first casualty of this toxic situation and was fired prior to the 1997–98 season. New general manager Darcy Regier was given the option of choosing his own coach. Rather than fire Nolan, whose two-year contract had just expired, Regier offered him a one-year extension, reportedly for $500,000. After winning Coach of the Year honors, Nolan found the offer insulting and rejected it. Regier subsequently pulled the contract off the table and hired Lindy Ruff as the Sabres' new head coach.

Post-Sabres career

Following his departure from Buffalo, Nolan was offered NHL coaching jobs in 1997 by the Tampa Bay Lightning (head coach) and in 1998 by the New York Islanders (assistant coach). Nolan declined both offers. Nolan was not offered an NHL coaching job again until May 2006, a span of eight years, with reports of his role in the firing of Sabres' GM John Muckler being the reason no team would hire him.^[1]

On December 16, 2005, Nolan was the victim of racial harassment during a Wildcats road game against the Chicoutimi Saguenéens. Fans in the stands shouted racial slurs at him and directed gestures such as the "tomahawk chop" and shooting a bow and arrow towards him as he stood behind the Moncton bench. The incident, he said later, left him shaking with anger and humiliation. The fans' behavior was condemned both by the QMJHL commissioner and Saguenéens management, the latter of which issued a formal apology to Nolan.^{[2] [3]}

Nolan's Wildcats reached the 2006 Memorial Cup final only to lose to the Quebec Remparts.

New York Islanders, 2006–2008

On June 8, 2006, New York Islanders' owner Charles Wang dismissed interim coach Brad Shaw and announced the hiring of Nolan as the team's new head coach. New York Post hockey columnist Larry Brooks quickly criticized Wang for hiring Nolan at the same time as new general manager Neil Smith, rather than allowing Smith to hire a coach of his own choosing.^[4]

In his first season with the Islanders in 2006–07, he led the team to a 92-point season and its first playoff berth since 2003–04. On April 20, 2007, Nolan's Islanders fell in five games to his former team, the top-seeded Buffalo Sabres.

In his second season, Nolan led the Islanders to a record of 35–38–9 for 79 points. On July 14, 2008, he was fired by then-Islanders' general manager Garth Snow.

Rochester Americans, 2009–2011

On July 2, 2009, Nolan agreed to a one-year contract with the Rochester Americans to become their Vice President of Hockey Operations. He remained with the team through 2011, when the team was sold to Terrence Pegula.

Latvia men's national ice hockey team

On August 3, 2011, Latvian Ice Hockey Federation announced that Nolan has agreed to become the head coach of Latvia men's national ice hockey team.^[5][6] He coached Latvia at the 2012 and 2013 IIHF World Championships, finishing 10th and 11th respectively. In 2013, Latvia qualified for the 2014 Winter Olympics with Nolan behind the bench.

At the Sochi Olympic Games, Latvia finished last in its group during the round robin tournament. They then upset favoured Switzerland in the qualification playoffs 3–1. Advancing to the quarterfinals, Latvia lost a hard-fought match to defending Olympic champions Team Canada 2–1. It was Latvia's best-ever Olympic result as they finished eighth overall.^[1]

Return to the Buffalo Sabres, 2013–2015

On November 13, 2013, Nolan returned to the Buffalo Sabres, being named the interim head coach following the firing of both head coach Ron Rolston and general manager Darcy Regier. Nolan was hired by Pat LaFontaine, who had also joined the team as president of hockey operations before resigning three months later.^[1]

Despite a relatively poor on-ice record, Tim Murray, Regier's replacement as general manager, expressed interest in keeping Nolan as permanent head coach. Nolan signed a three-year contract extension on March 31, 2014. However, on April 12, 2015, Murray fired Nolan and his assistants, stating that he and Nolan "didn't have a great relationship" and suggesting that Nolan expected to be consulted on the team's trade deadline moves, saying "But going back to player personnel decisions, going back to him not being consulted on trade deadline, those are things that I think are normal that maybe somebody else doesn't think is normal."^[7]

Poland men's national ice hockey team

Nolan started coaching the Polish national team in 2017. The team played in the 2018 IIHF World Championship Division I A and were relegated to Division I B. He resigned shortly thereafter.

Coaching statistics

Note: Head coaching statistics only.

NHL

Junior leagues

  – Denotes championship season

Regular season and playoffs