Thought we could use a separate thread to just discuss requirements and rumors of a new coach. Pretty soon the Heaps threads will be locked I am guessing. Starting with this again:
I second that vote for none of the above. The only one I would remotely consider is Ralston but would still vote no. While he has learned the ropes as an assistant for years now, I think he's too passive and too tied to this team from his player days. The others are 100% no. I want an aggressive coach that would push the FO to sign better, and yes, more expensive players. A coach that will build a top tier team. Since I would be amazed if Burns and (or) Bilello get wacked, it will come down to a coach that won't take what they dish out for talent to turn this ship around. Former players are not a good choice as we have just seen. I think that if the FO were going to chang, it would have to be very soon. I can't see them being involved with finding a new coach if they were also on the chopping block. I think Bilello would have to go first, then let his replacement find HIS own GM. Firing Heaps alone is not going to fix all that's broken
Ralston and Gio (and maybe, maybe Shalrie, though his inexperience is a huge red flag) are the only ones there that I could imagine coming around to liking as coach. None of them are exciting. Frankly, I'd be happier with someone I'd never heard of who actually had a resume than any of those guys. But I worry because Burns knows ALL those guys, which means he's likely to have an emotional stake in the decision. How likely is he to make the most ambitious choice, versus the most economic choice with a face with whom he's familiar? Smart money's on the latter.
Savarese could be a good choice - he did well with a bad situation in the NASL. Current out-of-work managers include Roberto Di Matteo (won the Champions League with Chelsea as a manager), Luis Enrique (of Barcelona), Frank de Boer (got shafted at Crystal Palace), Walter Matterazzi (2 seasons at Inter), Paolo Sousa (mentioned in that MLS article), Thomas Tuchel (brought Pulisic to Dortmund), Bernd Schuster (coached Real Madrid, also played in Liga MX in the 90s)... There is a lot of experience available. Of course not all of those guys will be willing to come to MLS. But I think Tata Martino hopefully has opened some Euro/SA coaches' minds to coming here, and money talks. While the Revs may have a poor reputation with many players, I would think that the longevity of our coaches would be a positive for coaches thinking of moving across an ocean to come here - an indication that you wouldn't be coming for 6 months before getting booted, but would get multiple seasons to have a chance to succeed. If the Revs end up hiring someone with zero experience, IMO it will be because they either are cheap (penny-wise & pound foolish, as good coaching increases the return on your assets) or no potential high level coaches believe that they could develop & control the player pipeline necessary for them to succeed.
Please no hires of former Revs because they're "one of our guys." Blech. I hate that crap because it has a built-in excuse for Burns & Co. if it doesn't work out that they went with someone who "knows the organization", etc. How about someone who actually knows tactics, who knows and can attract foreign talent, who can make in-game adjustments and doesn't play guys out of position all the time? We're undergoing a coaching search at the same time as the Colorado Rapids, another traditionally unambitious organization who also just fired a "club legend" with no previous experience because he couldn't coach his way out of a paper bag. And if it weren't for their new stadium about to open and all the excuses that came ahead of that, Ben Olsen would deservedly be out of a job in DC, as well. The "club legend" or "one of us" hire is backward-looking MLS 2.0. Other than a new stadium (yeah, right), this is the best chance in this decade to rebuild the image of the entire Revs organization. They did the first thing right--firing Heaps well before the end of the season. Now, we wait and see...
[QUOTE="RevsRule, post: 35886435, member: 4777" Former players are not a good choice as we have just seen. [/QUOTE] I disagree. Former players with no coaching experience are not a good choice, but many of those names have head coaching experience and have shown success. Or are assistants who are associated with successful coaches.
Wouldn't it be nice to know the organization's goals for this search? Preferably without platitudes. Longevity may be inversely proportional to salary and/or proclivity to challenge the FO/ownership. I fear that, on the topic of willingness to challenge Burns, Billelo, or Krafts, we're going to have to hope someone sneaks past the organization's obedience filters. Will they get this hiring done before the expansion draft?
By chance, a recent article on StatsBomb is great. http://statsbomb.com/2017/09/the-right-way-to-hire-football-coaches/
Agree on everything except, perhaps, an underlying premise to your question. I would like the hire to be done by the expansion draft I don't need it to be done by then. But then I am of a bit of a different mind relative to the quality of our squad than some. Yes, there are some to protect, no there aren't that many. The expansion draft should NOT be an excuse to rush this thing, I guess is my bottom line. And I do so hope that Kraft sees that he needs to change a lot more than the coach!
Let's see. We have: Old Revs players that have head coaching experience Old Revs players that have assistant coaching experience Old Revs players that have no professional coaching experience OLD MLS head coaches that would be recycled TV Pundits who have coached some youth national teams Those are the rumors as of now. Will they even look at coaches from around the globe? All the articles coming out about the Krafts and the other "problems" in the organization will either scare off quality, or force the Krafts hands to let the coach come in and really shake things up. For our sake, we need more public pressure on the Krafts - that is the only time we have seen action that turned into results.
No idea who the team should hire, or who may be available or interested. However, I'm quite sure I don't want another American coach, experienced or not. The staff and the front office are filled with enough Americans. They have may have plenty of contacts within the college ranks and the lower levels of the pro game, but that only helps with the draft and trades. How about someone who played or coached in Latin America or Europe, who has contacts and connections with players and agents and clubs in other countries, who can help open a pipeline into the Revs from elsewhere? The new coach doesn't have to know everything about the quirky MLS roster and salary cap rules - let the GM handle those details - as long as the new coach has a basic understanding of the MLS rules and understands that the club can't just sign everyone they want regardless of how much money the club wants to spend. Be a coach, know tactics, handle personalities, juggle the lineup, bring along the young kids, and make a larger pool of foreign talent available to the club. It's a lot to ask, and finding the right person is not an easy task, but there's plenty of time to figure it out.
I'm not quibbling with starting the conversation by mentioning that Dunseth tweet to get things rolling, but I think some people take such things a little too seriously. Someone gets fired and within hours someone says he's seen all these names "linked" with the job? Linked how, and by whom? I took that as meaning he'd seen random fans mention those names on twitter. As has been seen so many times before, people get linked with open jobs in sports all the time based on things like, an agent wants to get a name out there, whether or not the team has any interest, news organizations see fans talking about some names, news organizations just make up links that they think "seem" logical, and/or would sell papers/draw clicks. I agree with the notion that, if things around the coach here will remain largely the same, it seems unlikely that an established, quality coach who many teams would deem desirable would ever join the Revs. I could see such a coach want to join if he were given the keys to the castle and told he would have at least close to the same resources available to him that the top 5-8 teams in the league have, but that scenario seems highly unlikely to me. Regarding people wanting someone who's outspoken, not afraid to take on those around him, and would be willing to speak out about what he was dealing with, I'd say Eric Wynalda actually fits into that particular category. Whomever they get, all I ask for is that they do a professional search, with clearly defined criteria of what they're looking for, and with professional interviewing of candidates. We always hear about the importance of the interview when it comes to NFL teams searching for head coaching candidates, will the Revs be as demanding in their search, or will they be doing another "hey, can we find someone who's willing to do all the many jobs required of the head coach of the Revs, while only getting paid this much"?
The odds of us getting a coach with foreign or overseas credentials are pretty much next to nil. The only sort of experience I see us getting is from the collegiate ranks, someone who's had success there, and wants to move up. That can work, a la Caleb Porter. In fact, I think it's our only realistic option for improvement, if we end up with the Burns-Bilello FO otherwise unchanged.
Craig Stewart at Providence should get a look. Oh and off topic, anyone see that PUNK Jermaine Jones get a straight red tonight? Good riddance with that dude and I hope Sigi doesn't play him anymore and same with Arena
Established? Ten seasons in MLS! Good? How does four Cup finals, an Open Cup, and a Superliga title sound? Willing to work for this organization? No problem. I'm looking forward to giving this Steve Nicol guy a try.
Doan be daaft, wee maan! He's gut a guud theng goin on at ESPN where yue ken sey wha-ever ye feel lake an no haafta werry aboo it effya rong. See, the beg problem with thu Aim-Ell-Ess is tha yuh gut ooners hue can, an well, spend thu money on enn-frastructure--a proppa trey-nin groond, greet facel-ett-ies, thu li-ul thengs tha' maa-ur to the pleyurs. An then yuh gut some hue won't. They jest goo thru the motions, hoopen tha mebbie THESS tayme, they'll ge' loookeh an wenn a coop. Et almoost happened a fue taymes...
For contrast - here is what is being reported about Colorado: https://www.mlssoccer.com/post/2017...-head-coach-candidates-target-nov-1-hire-date
New England GM Michael Burns in no rush to find Jay Heaps replacement https://www.mlssoccer.com/post/2017...hael-burns-no-rush-find-jay-heaps-replacement My only gripe (outside of the "we are not in any sort of rush") are the 2 comments that feels contradictory/revisionist history as they waited too long on Heaps: "but we are definitely trending in the wrong direction, and that was the main reason for the change. We need to bring in a new coach who is going to help us turn that direction around.” .... "...and I think if you look at the history of our club, we’ve only had two managers in the last 16 years,” Burns said. “If we can continue on that trend, I’ll take that forever. That means you’re doing something right over a long period of time.”
No, Mike, you friggin ree-tard! It means that you kept Nicol 2 years too long, shouldn't have hired Heaps to begin with, and fired him a year too late.
How about a former Revs player and coach, with lots of top league and international playing experience AND a lot of head coaching experience in several countries, including some top leagues? I could only be talking about .......... Zenga! And, before you say - he's a crazy man - he's come a long way as a head coach since he was thrown into the fire here prematurely. And, he's faced a gazillion times more pressure than he'd ever see in MLS (coaching in Belgrade. ). And, he just might be game for another US venture.
We all know what that means now. Someone who will keep his head down, not make waves, not complain about the shoestring budget. How the hell does Meola even make Dunseth's list? Honestly, that would be the final straw for me.