Schmetzer would have been a poor choice. You never know once they get in there, but his prior experience doesn't match the requisites for the job. He comes from a team with a firm organization in place, was trained on the job, and took over from a guy who built the thing. He's riding someone else's coattails and doing a good job of it, but that doesn't apply to the USMNT. USMNT coaches have to be able to create consistency from a much less organized and predictable circumstance. One major factor of that is the inclusion of players who are coming in from a much higher level of competition than Schmetzer has ever seen. Schmetzer would also be coaching against a level of play and sophistication than he has ever seen or experienced. Not a wise choice. Berhalter is a much more reasonable choice.