Denis Hamlett's name hasn't come up much. The Rapids were the last team he ever played for (though not for very long). His last head coaching gig was in 2009, when he led Chicago to 2nd in the East and a winning record. I believe he was sacked despite the record of success at Chicago so they could bring in Carlos de los Cobos. Then he was out of coaching for a couple years, then has been an assistant in Vancouver and then Montreal. Apologies if he was mentioned earlier in the thread but I can't recall it. I remember thinking he was a pretty damn good coach for the Fire and was surprised when he was let go.
Obvious responses: -suppose the coach is a disaster? Still want him for a decade? -translation: we're too lazy and cheap to do a real HC search. -not going outside "the club" means possibly keeping the soccer-intelligence gene pool smaller (ie, new ideas/ways of doing things) -you've just narrowed your search considerably, with quality *not* being the main criteria for the short list.
this screams panic hire... I hate to bring up another sport, but CU tried this with Jon embree and failed miserably He was the worst coach in CU History. I don't want this to be the same thing
I'm really not as turned off by those options as a lot of other people. We had Oscar Pareja as our couch FFS. He sucks. Any of the ex-player options would be a lateral move at worst. Not comparable to the Rapids situation at all. CU had already completely ruined their football program long before they even signed Embree.
I don't like the limitations they're putting on the search (at least publicly @DavidJames). They seem to be restricting it to likely ex-players so they don't have to do antoher search for upwards of 10 years. Right now only 4 MLs coaches have been in their roles longer than even 4 seasons, Sigi, Arena, Kinnear, and Vermes. All 4 have won a major title with their current club, and Sigi, Arena, and Kinnear are probably the best 3 coaches in MLS history. The likelihood of finding an ex-Rapids player that can get to that level in the next 4 years is not high. On the plus side, their list of criteria does include one or both of the JDVs.
Chris Bianchi @Rapids_News6m Team feels that an ex-player has best chance at sticking around long term - perhaps feeling a bit burned by Pareja’s surprise departure. Chris Bianchi @Rapids_News7m Appears #Rapids will go with ex-player (Fraser, Spencer, Mastroeni in mix) in coaching search. Team wants ex-player for longevity purposes. Hey, I'm looking for a car, but there are just so many out there and some real good ones too, I think I'll have to narrow my search somehow. Lets see, how about it has to have been driven in my town, it has to be something I can keep a long time -- because no one else will want it, and it has to be good, fast, and cheap. The problem is the dealer said he has cars that fit that first part but for those last three (underlined) I can only pick "any two". Now I'm bummed.
Spot on re: CU. Here are a few facts and some insider perspective. 1. Pareja gave the FO his word he was committed and wanted to be here long term. Things changed when Pareja asked for one vanity hire that made no sense at all, and when Dallas continued to pursue through indirect channels. He's not going to make much more in Dallas, if any. 2. Pareja had little to no say in last years draft, and the Rapids believe in the model of a strong technical staff to make player evaluations/decisions, and a manager to cook with the groceries they buy for him (to use the Bill Parcells analogy) 3. The Dutch technical guy they just brought in (name escapes me right now) is going to have an active role with whatever manager is selected in terms of game day tactics. For this reason, the Rapids are looking for a strong man manager/motivator and someone not simply looking at the post as a short-term stepping stone. 4. There has been a very expansive and active search, I've seen at least 6 names, foreign and domestic, and they're looking to make the "right" hire based on their criteria and plan. Disagree with the plan all you want, I have a few questions myself, but to imply there hasn't been a plan or they're somehow scrambling is not accurate. 5. Rapids technical staff already working hard on draft evaluations and there is the possibility of one very exciting young player from a premier league side joining on loan with an option to buy. Obviously the manager will have some say on personnel, but they really are building an organization and structure when personnel decisions are made by Bravo and team.
Bianchi's tweets make the "search" look more like a marketing campaign for introducing Maestroeni than an actual search. It's almost as if he's talking to the Rapids' (former) marketing guy.
All of this is very interesting info, except your point #2 kind of flies in the face of what was actually captured on video during the "Inside the SuperDraft" segments. Of course, though, the way the video was edited could be making a huge difference.
Also, Mastro's issues were with Oscar, not any players. Not saying it's a perfect choice, but I guess I'd ask if the combination of Mastro and the Dutch technical guy, call it a poor man's version of what Germany did with Klinnsman and Loew, is as good or better than other candidates available? I don't know the answer, but I know who they've interviewed/talked to so far and I'm actually somewhat excited if Pablo does get the job because he bleeds for the club and is the sort of guy that players will run through walls for....
There was consensus on Deshorn, but Oscar did not want Powers. Bravo overrode him there. Obviously, I'm not meaning to imply Oscar had no input, just that personnel decisions are clearly in Bravo's court and while it's not ideal, not having a manager named by the draft isn't the disaster others are making it out to be...
Then their PR is failing because IMO they aren't doing a very good job of portraying themselves as anything but surprised and scrambling.
An ex-player does make sense -- I get it -- though I'm not for it. It makes firing one a helluva lot harder when they don't pan out. That's just food for thought and not necessarily a reason to hire or not to hire one. You just have to 'err on the side of caution. I just hope and pray the Rapids FO makes a sensible decision. The squad has taken two giant steps forward and I would absolutely be gutter (and furious) if we had to take two steps back this season. Our momentum is forward not backward..
I don't get why people are so skeptical about Bravo's role in acquiring players when that was one of the main issues with Smith leaving. It seems clear he (and others in the FO) have always been involved. Though, how much of a hand Pareja had in acquisitions in general is a fair question.
Right, I thought they made it fairly clear with OP was hired that the final roster say rested with Bravo, not OP. That's clearly the organization Hinchey/Bravo want. This.
http://www.mlssoccer.com/extratime Fast forward to 27:00. Fresh Extra Time Radio interview with Hinchey. It's basically a run down of how the OP to FCD all went down. It does sound like this was all facilitated by OP and it was a change of heart that ultimately led to his exit. Interesting that Hinchey mentioned OP's children, 6 of them, were in Colorado not Dallas as reported or rumored. Also, tampering was and is not in the cards. According to Hinchey everything was do in a proper manner.
Though at this point I would expect him to say nothing else, even if tampering was in the cards. I'm sure that would have been part of the deal with what Dallas gave up for OP. (That's not to say there was tampering, just that comments made after the deal was done isn't proof one way or the other.)
He also stated the desire to find a coach for whom the Rapids gig is his "Dream Job"; someone willing to stay around for several years. Also mentioned experience in youth development is something they are looking for. Reiterated several times that the club is "in good hands" at the moment so there's no rush. Even mentioned the possibility of "interim" if need be.
With all the talk about an Ex-Rapid player and the desire to get someone who is committed to the club, why has Marcelo Balboa's name not come up? At least I wouldn't have to hear him saying: "It's gonna take some time" over and over in the booth.