That reflects your values, not his. The last two coaches have been able to get to MLS Cup (and have a real shot at winning it) - that's got to tell prospective coaches that it is possible to win here. Maybe winning is his top priority, maybe it's money, maybe it's exposure, maybe something else entirely or a combination of things, but I believe him when he said that he plenty of options. This. There always seems to be a "grass is greener" mindset on this board.
No, not when it comes to the bottom quarter of the league when it comes to organizational acumen. Clearly this is a better situation than Colorado, Philadelphia or DC, and if this was the pre-Schweinsteiger era (or if they Jones him out), Chicago. But even the clubs that have struggled on the field like, say, Orlando, the organization as a whole has a clearer vision than the Revs have. Forget about teams like Atlanta, Seattle, or Toronto, those teams are on a totally different planet than we are. The grass is actually greener there.
"... or Portland or <insert other MLS openings> or the Championship...?" Pick one suggestion apart and apparently you refute the entire question. Or at least a question. The larger question was, "What juice has Brad Friedel displayed? Where did I miss him using it?" Neither Declining to exercise options nor releasing players represents "alot of juice" IMHO. Deciding to come to New England, despite your arguments, also doesn't argue "alot of Juice," again IMHO. I feel like I was supposed to sit in the corner for having my own opinion... Winning better be his top priority. Again, how did he turn those options (I have no idea what they were) or this "juice" to his advantage in the current situation? I have no choice but to wait and see if he has this juice and can use it to his/our advantage but I don't believe we've seen any proof of it yet. Despite the Jermaine Jones anomaly (that will get you going) year, the REVs have been pretty mediocre overall since 2010. Sure one can win here but I don't think the last 8 years have demonstrated this is an ideal ownership and management team to work for/with. I'll feel better, actually, when/if Friedal really does use his "juice" to change Burns, Biello, Kraft behaviors.
It's true that Portland wasn't open when Friedel came to the Revs, so it's not really a fair criticism to suggest he wasn't in play for that slot. But as a franchise, Portland is objectively superior to New England in almost every way. It just is. Unless they've got a strong off the field reason, like familial ties or deadly allergies to hipsters and food trucks, anyone who passes up coaching Portland to coach New England is either a masochist or a fool. That said, I can't say I'd blame Friedel for not being interested in working for Kroenke. Coaching the Rapids would be just as shitty a soccer job as the Revs gig, but at least getting to watch the Pats in the offseason would be more satisfying (and easier to do) than watching the Rams.
They have real pressure there, the Timbers are covered by the media, people acknowledge they exist. They are a major league team in Portland. You have to actually produce. In New England you have plenty of time and patience from ownership to learn your trade, make some mistakes, miss the playoffs a few times, play mediocre soccer. In Foxboro, squeaking into the playoffs is the expectation while winning anything is just gravy. It would be great to work in that type of no accountability environment if you don't give a shit for 5 years til the next better job opens up, so I get why Friedel took it. Of course the Portland job wasn't open yet and the rapids are far worse than the revs, so his options were limited.
You should talk to someone about that (nothing I said implied you couldn't/shouldn't have an opinion). As for evidence of Friedel using his influence (will you "" that everywhere?), isn't it a little soon to be looking for that? You make it sound like Friedel had to take a job somewhere. If I'm not mistaken, he already had a job. And, most of what you describe about the Revs, I think is actually a positive - it's important when hiring a coach to have some patience and let him build his system (let's not forget that Heaps improved results on the field several years running, until 2016). That said, I think they did keep Heaps a year too long. I disagree with the no accountability, winning is just gravy, etc., but I'm not going to change anyone's mind who believes that. But, I think there's a ton of frustration from fans, including myself - justifiably so. Still, we tend to view the job opportunity from our viewpoint, not a candidate's, IMO.
Exactly! And therefore way to soon to be saying he has any "juice" at all (I knew you wanted the quotes).
Not a math problem, wrong year! Should have said 2014. Coaching Record: Regular Season Playoffs Season Team G W L T SW SL Pts Pts% Win% G W L T Win% 2012 New England Revolution 34 9 17 8 0 0 35 .343 .382 0 0 0 0 2013 New England Revolution 34 14 11 9 0 0 51 .500 .544 2 1 1 0 .500 2014 New England Revolution 34 17 13 4 0 0 55 .539 .559 5 3 1 1 .700 2015 New England Revolution 34 14 12 8 0 0 50 .490 .529 1 0 1 0 .000 2016 New England Revolution 34 11 14 9 0 0 42 .412 .456 0 0 0 0 Totals 170 65 67 38 0 0 233 .457 .494 8 4 3 1 .563 What I said was "my take on it is that he has more juice than Heaps ..." - that's a statement of opinion, not fact. Even I don't know if it's true yet, but from what I know about him, I suspect it is.
If one just looked at a graph of the point total during Heaps' tenure, you could make a case that 2016 was just a small drop-off - and that he deserved at least another year. But the sense that I had (and probably most others), was that it was a far more significant fall-off and I had little hope that 2017 would produce a rebound.
Right. He should have been shown the door after the playoff exit vs. DC United, where Geiger candy-assed his way out of spending another 45-60 minutes outside in the cold rain. But the Measure 9 Times, Fire Once philosophy made us waste 2 more years of doing nothing.
Supposedly Heaps did pass his Pro License in the 2nd wave of class. Although, no one has failed yet (that they have publicized) - and he was the only one without a real head coaching job currently.
Thanks - I was thinking that hadn't been relieved of his head coaching duties, Caleb stepped down on his own, right?