I don't know that not having a coach yet is any sort of a major problem. However, the fact that we are not being told anything about this from the federation, the new president, the new GM or anyone else after falling on our face in qualification and watching our biggest rival (not my team) crush it on the big stage, is a big problem. The absolute LEAST that could be done is saying something. Same ridiculous, amatuer, insulated and clueless federation.
"Frightening"? Nah man, that's fun as heck. People will post pics of possible candidates shopping or eating at local places, or the flight paths of chartered jets (e.g from a strip close to a coach to a destination). It's like a "who dunnit", but you're trying to figure out who the coach is.
You know, I actually have what might be a very plausible explanation for the Rob Stone list. Perhaps it's giving too much credit to USSF. So, when Arizona was hiring Kevin Sumlin, there obviously were rumors floated about various coaches. In particular, there were some strong rumors about a coach from Arkansas State, an an offensive coordinator from another school, and Ken Nuimatalolo from Navy. Sumlin was an early name, but he faded as the other coaches gained steam, and Sumlin stayed quiet. People liked/hated all three options to various degrees, but there was some kind of leak that Nuimatalolo was going to be the coach, and everyone started freaking out. Our QB Khalil Tate tweeted that he didn't want to run the triple option. Boosters tweeted that they were furious, and there was an emergency meeting of AD staff and boosters. ...And all of a sudden, we announced the hiring of Kevin Sumlin. Heeke had secretly met and worked out a deal with Sumlin, while the department tested various candidates through planned leaks. The leak of Nuimatalolo seems to have partly been to push boosters to pony up for Sumlin's salary. Point being, perhaps the shortlist is being leaked to gauge the reaction of the public. If everyone hates the names, maybe USSF moves on. Or, maybe it's supposed to butter us up for a particular hire, where the one that they eventually get will look great by comparison?
It's an optimistic theory. To be fair, we had little faith in the Arizona AD after the absurdity of the Dick Rod regime and a history of insane/unsuccessful FB HC hires... And as they say, even a blind squirrel finds a nut or two...
As long as we're referencing college football hires, Illinois announced the hiring of their current AD a couple months before he was to officially take the job, but then on his first official day he fired the quasi-interim football coach and two days later introduced Lovie Smith, whose hiring he'd been working on behind the scenes for weeks. So Earnie Stewart's "official" start date could easily be him and the next coach at the podium, if that's a direction USSF is willing to go. (Also, Niumatalolo is going to be awesome when some Power Five school is smart enough to lure him away from Navy.)
I guess you didn't read my post. Our Dutch-American GM does not float rumors and does not brief the press in advance of any done deal. He keeps his cards close to his chest. This is not a matter of USSF incompetence. This is the way Earnie does things.
Listen, the USSF is really hoping that the interest in the failure is forgotten. They don't want you to think about how it happened, just that there are a bunch of young stars and they got the 2026 WC now. Look forward to that. Its a good business decision and the further they can get away from the failure the less demanding people are going to be if the hire is underwhelming. I wouldn't be surprised if we don't hear anything until someone is hired.
Sumlin peaked c. 2011-2012, last year at UH, first at TAMU. By 2017 he was 7-5, barely bowl eligible, and his team lost in its bowl after he was fired. In other words this whole elaborate schtick was for a coach who had just been fired for being rather average. If the hiring process was a charade, THAT was the end game? You'd have probably been better off with the honest and transparent interviewing of applicants. It kind of glorifies the AD or whoever as smart and sneaky, but the AD being cute doesn't win football games. It also makes it very important who the AD is fixated on. I mean, if that process results in Saban, one thing. If it results in Sumlin, who I know from personal experience people had been chasing with pitchforks for a few years, meh. "Wow, you sneakily went out and got us an unorthodox coach with a mixed track record who just got fired, in a way that probably not just cloaked our choice from competition and auction tactics, but also choked off dissent, yay." To be fair, might be a reason why it's quiet. Or we have ineffective execs who don't lead well or communicate to the fans, and a GM truly not even on the job yet, and therefore it's just that you can't hear the Benny Hill theme at HQ. We'll see which. And regardless which of the above options, it then matters who you might be sneaking in. I mean, they made the playoffs one year, their coach is Jim Curtin. The reason Billy Beane books are out there is he had that one streak at least (though the A's still haven't won anything if they are so smart......their world series are back in the "spending" period). Luhnow just earned some credit as smart after we were irate when the team was decimated half a decade ago, virtually unwatchable. You earn smart not with the GM "play" but with the netted results.
off topic/ I don't want to go super deep on here, because it's not really the place for it, but... 7-5 (4-4) in the SEC West should make the PAC 12 seem like a cakewalk. RR had a sub .500 record in PAC play, and Sumlin had that or better every year in the SEC West, the toughest division in CFB. Not to mention, he's a much better recruiter than we've ever had in the HC spot, and he brought in assistants that could recruit as well (meanwhile, RR's good ol' boys like Casteel and Kreilach didn't recruit). I don't know if you know Arizona football, but we've been pretty bad since Bruschi and Desert Swarm. RR recruited 2 and 3-star tiny slot guys, didn't get a player drafted in the last 2 years, and the ones that did were Stoops recruits. Couple that with the Scum Devils hiring Herm Edwards, and maybe we'll finally stop pulling in bottom-of-the-conference talent. We were never going to get a coach with no flaws, we hired RR after his Michigan disaster... /end off topic I don't know how much credit to give the USSF, that's why it's just a theory I'm throwing out there. Like you say, sometimes organizations coast on one good run. I think perhaps the USSF has coasted on that 2002 WC run for far too long. They outplayed Germany and were unlucky to advance, but the aggregate of our tournament appearances doesn't scream "QF or better". If they get a coach that can make players want to play and put on the shirt, teach them a style of play that they can understand and execute, and make consistent and reasonable roster decisions, I think we'll be OK. If he's divisive in the locker room, changes his style on a whim, or doesn't call in the best players in our shallow pool, we'll be in trouble.
Been there with Ron Zook. It can be a little more complicated than that. But I did think it was a good hire, certainly better than those goofballs up the road. Good luck!
I think that even before he was officially hired, Stewart had been thinking of which coach he wanted. American coaches have not done too badly on a whole. Remember, no matter what BA says, the US will probably never win a WC...we are just not a soccer country. But we have gotten further along with an American coach. I think Stewart has a coach already in mind...probably an MLS coach. Because of his dual nationality, it is also possible for him to go abroad for his search for a coach. However, I believe whoever it is, the announcement will come before September.
Realistic in that we won't go after them or realistic in that they wouldn't take the job? There's a chance this Stewart setup makes the job completely toxic for non-USSF old boys candidates, but we haven't been given enough information to know that. It's also possible that it was designed that way, and thus we won't take more than cursory, token interest in any foreign candidates. In general though, the USMNT job is exactly what the Quieroz' and Van Marwijk's of the world are looking for. We pay good money, are a nice place to live, offer a high public profile, and present an interesting challenge. That's as appealing as a retirement gig for managers as it is for players.
That might be a short term tactic, and to be real the emerging talent pool and/or world cup expansion may make it virtually riskless, at the basic level of returning to qualification. If they can get the defense squared away, I mean, if you can't qualify this new bunch......whether that should really be the only goal, with this incoming class, meh. Might be kind of like being satisfied with semis with JK at Germany at home. However, I think having missed a world cup this will be high accountability and they will be judged by results. We may have 2026 but I think the 2022 campaign needs to be good enough to earn the new term. And the quieter they get the more they will be judged by results. I'm kind of a quiet person at work. I'm not constantly explaining what I am doing. As a result, better have the end product.
If you're looking to win the world cup you don't hire the guy who can't even win his domestic league, plucky/trendy but not quite a magician. Sumlin was brought in to TAMU to make them nationally relevant, that lasted one season, fizzled. So it's like this guy will make us national champs, then that gets watered down to maybe we can do something in SEC, then you're barely making bowls and he gets canned. Then you're like maybe we can win conference, that too will get watered down. The soccer implications for this are obvious. You might sell "ambition" but the reality is it's almost "settling." OK, rather than hire a proven winner, we will take a flyer. Particularly if they have had a big time shot, if it didn't come off, the optimism is less justified. That's a track record. If the other is less sexy but has the track record...... IMO there are usually evident flaws that are why the coach is not quite that magician. Sumlin has a gimmick offense but would make strange QB decisions, couldn't hold leads. Berhalter's Crew showed up as flat for the opening whistle of MLS Cup as I have ever seen. Just because a coach punches above his weight doesn't mean he's flawless. The thing about Sumlin is, that was what happened when he was elevated from small conference to big. OK, now, he's supposed to win. Other than one season, nope.
Re Stewart wouldn't half the point to enforcing your Philly deal through 8/1 be that you are there -- even if nominally -- through that deadline 9-5 and doing what they want (so to speak) and not in Russia on US business, or calling around with US coaching agents? I'm sure they see it as a concession but the whole point is to force some degree of obligation through 8/1. Depending on if he has a moonlighting clause or some sort of agreement he can do what he wants now on his own time, maybe he can talk to agents off the clock, maybe not. So who knows re anything before 8/1. I could see USSF in general at Russia for various reasons (hosting prep, exec perk, get work done, hobnob/corrupt) but then wouldn't the deal be that Stewart is the primary contact? "You need to call Earnie but ______________" (whatever the agreement is with Philly on when and how he can be reached) Assuming they are following their explanation of the allocation of power. You're still kind of stuck in the Stewart situation if he has the power he was supposedly given. Now if the Prez can hash out a deal on his own, sure. But then they fibbed on who was going to decide.
Case in point he was in Bethlehem, PA on Wednesday taking in the BSFC-RBNY2 USL game. Nope, they didn't read it because it's facts. Everyone knows that facts have no place in the USA boards. If it's not sky is falling/greatest U17 player EVA!!!! hyperbole and conspiracy theories it falls on deaf ears/blind eyes. There won't be any leaks or rumors to the press either once Stewart officially takes over. There were hardly any rumors/leaks of players coming./going for the Un ion since Stewart took over. Y'all better get used to it.
Isn't he still officially employed by the Union until next month? I can't imagine that game could be related to the managerial search...