If not Yallop or Dom - who?

Discussion in 'San Jose Earthquakes' started by bsman, Sep 4, 2007.

  1. bsman

    bsman Member+

    May 30, 2001
    MadCity
    Club:
    San Jose Earthquakes
    Given that there is no plausible scenario (c'mon - stop kidding yourselves) under which Kinnear does not stay in Houston, and given that the fact every day Yallop is still at the Galaxy increases the chance he won't be let go, who is it? Who is the non-Dom, non-FY coach who is going to put his stamp on the resurgent earthquakes for 2008?
     
  2. Albany58

    Albany58 Member+

    Sep 14, 1999
    Concord, CA USA
    Club:
    San Jose Earthquakes
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    Klinsmann?
     
  3. markmcf8

    markmcf8 Member+

    Oct 18, 1999
    Vancouver, WA, USA
    Club:
    San Jose Earthquakes
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    Dom's last assistant when he was in San Jose . . .

    John Doyle

    and who better for the job? JD helped build the great '05 club. He has two years as an MLS assistant under his belt. He certainly knows the players in MLS and the up and coming locals.

    I would be very happy with JD as our head coach.

    If not JD, then Spencer or some other current MLS assistant, but that nixes Earthquakes LLC plans to announce the new head coach within 45 days (now quite a bit less than 45 days).

    GOOOOOO QUAKES!!!!!! :D :D :D

    - Mark
     
  4. Goodsport

    Goodsport Moderator
    Staff Member

    May 18, 1999
    Club:
    San Jose Earthquakes
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    If it'll be neither Dominic Kinnear nor Frank Yallop, then what does it matter? :(

    GO SAN JOSE EARTHQUAKES!!! :cool:


    -G
     
  5. FAS

    FAS Member

    Jun 5, 1999
    Los Gatos
    Just as long as it's not Steve Sampson.
     
  6. Via_Chicago

    Via_Chicago Member

    Apr 1, 2004
    Bay Area, California
    Club:
    San Jose Earthquakes
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    Just from within MLS, here are some candidates that Lew and co. ought to consider:

    Oscar Pareja - currently Assistant Coach with FC Dallas - Pareja has quietly been behind the Latino revolution down in Dallas, helping bring in players like Richetti and Toja while nurturing talents like Arturo Alvarez (yeah, remember him?). A great player who is learning quickly down in Dallas, and who could really connect with the Bay's Hispanic population.

    Mark Simpson - currently Assistant Coach with D.C. United - Simpson might not have what it takes yet, and who knows if he ever will, but he coached a very good Virginia Beach Mariners side a few years ago and has worked now with both Peter Nowak and Tom Soehn, two of some of the better coaches in MLS' recent history.

    Paul Mariner - currently Assistant Coach with New England Revolution - Mariner interviewed for the Chicago Fire job and he looks ready to take over his own club. On the plus side, he has loads of experience and has worked extensively with one of MLS' most successful coaches in Steve Nicol. However, the jury is out on whether he would be bringing Nicol-ball with him.

    John Harkes - currently Assistant Coach with New York Red Bulls - I'm pretty skeptical about Harkes, but he's worth an interview, as is his fellow Assistant Richie Williams (shocking I know).

    Jeff Agoos - I know that John Doyle's name is bandied about, but I've never really trusted John's coaching abilities. A good motivator? Absolutely. A pretty good coach for the defenders? Sure. But a tactically savvy coach? I dunno. Jeff was a slow player, but in MLS he was able to compensate with his superior speed of thought and tactical awareness. I'm sure he could translate this to success on the pitch as a coach.
     
  7. FAS

    FAS Member

    Jun 5, 1999
    Los Gatos
    Of all the folks you mentioned I think Mariner would be worth a look.
     
  8. Albany58

    Albany58 Member+

    Sep 14, 1999
    Concord, CA USA
    Club:
    San Jose Earthquakes
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    What? :gag: I hope there's no chance of that (attempt to strangle self).
     
  9. Via_Chicago

    Via_Chicago Member

    Apr 1, 2004
    Bay Area, California
    Club:
    San Jose Earthquakes
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    Of those, Simpson is by far the longest shot. Pareja and Mariner are both worth long looks, and the jury is still out on the rest of them.
     
  10. bsman

    bsman Member+

    May 30, 2001
    MadCity
    Club:
    San Jose Earthquakes
    I wasn't trying to stir things up, but I just don't see us being coached by Frank or Dom next year. I would like to add a couple of possibilities to Via Chicago's list:

    Peter Nowak - currently U-23 coach and assistant to Bob Bradley. I think he's ready to take the next step, and he's a great competitor and motivator.

    Ronnie Ekelund - We know all about the motivational talent and tactical knowledge of this guy, and he's still right on our doorstep.

    Troy Dayak - A longshot at best, but certainly a great guy and would be a pretty canny publicity move by Wolff, especially if backed up by a top-notch front office.
     
  11. Via_Chicago

    Via_Chicago Member

    Apr 1, 2004
    Bay Area, California
    Club:
    San Jose Earthquakes
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    bsman: Nowak's goal seems to me to become head coach of the Polish National Team (or the U.S. National Team at some point), hence his move away from the cushy job with United to the much less glamorous AC job with Bob Bradley.
     
  12. jeff_adams

    jeff_adams Member+

    Dec 16, 1999
    Monterey, Ca
    Former Clash defender Richard Gough was rumored to want to coach in SJ.
     
  13. markmcf8

    markmcf8 Member+

    Oct 18, 1999
    Vancouver, WA, USA
    Club:
    San Jose Earthquakes
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    Excuse me?! First off, Agoos moved back to the east coast because he wanted to be there. So there's very little chance he would want to come back to San Jose. Beyond that, he has no MLS coaching experience, so why would you even want him? Remember, we need to get someone good out of the gate, not some untried guy or some foreign coach with little to no understanding of our strange league. JD spent two years working with Dom. If he was our coach, he'd try to do the same things that he and Dom did in '05. We could do a lot worse than that.

    Yallop was a defender and he put together a pretty good offensive team. The current coach of the Timbers, Gavin Wilkinson, was a defender, he's put together a pretty decent offensive side. (On a real shoe-string budget too.) So just because JD played defense doesn't make him a boring defensive coach.

    bsman added Nowak, Ekelund, and Dayak to the list. When Nowak coached DC, they played like thugs. I don't want him. Ekelund has no coaching experience. Dayak, only in the indoor game where he was less than successful. I could see either Dayak or Ekelund as an assistant.

    More likely, if JD is our coach, he'll ask long time pal Jeff Baicher to be his assistant. So we'll get a very offensive minded assistant along with JD. Does that make anyone feel any better? Maybe Russell as an assistant too. There's no reason that we will be limited to just one assistant coach.

    Pareja is an interesting suggestion. I liked him as a player, and if he is indeed responsible for "Richetti and Toja while nurturing talents like Arturo Alvarez" then I think he'd be really good. We should be looking for bargains in Central and South America. Remember that MLS is still on a tight budget. Also, he would fit MLS's minority initiative which would score us points with the league. Not to be underestimated in a single entity situation.

    GOOOOOOO QUAKES!!!!!! :D :D :D

    - Mark
     
  14. jeff_adams

    jeff_adams Member+

    Dec 16, 1999
    Monterey, Ca
    Mark, do you know Doyle? The reason I ask, many people who posted on here around the time that JD got hired as assistant said they had seen Doyle coaching at lower levels and he "left a lot to be desired". I remember there was a lot of criticism of him in '05 because it appeared that Kinnear did everything at practices and Doyle just stood around and watched.
     
  15. Honore de Ballsac

    Oct 28, 2005
    France.
    GOOOOOOOOSE.

    He could be Nats coach someday. Let's get him first. He'd move west for a head coaching job.
     
  16. Via_Chicago

    Via_Chicago Member

    Apr 1, 2004
    Bay Area, California
    Club:
    San Jose Earthquakes
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    This had been my understanding as well, and this was an opinion in large part formed from watching Doyle in-game. Kinnear tends to gravitate towards good locker-room types as his assistants, while he himself takes a very hands-on approach with coaching, tactics, and practices. Hence when Doyle left Kinnear grabbed "fiery Scot" John Spencer. I get the same vibe from Spencer that I got from Doyle.
     
  17. markmcf8

    markmcf8 Member+

    Oct 18, 1999
    Vancouver, WA, USA
    Club:
    San Jose Earthquakes
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    No. I do not know Doyle, have never met him, did not watch any practice sessions. So I could be completely full of kraft! :eek:

    Still, Dom credited JD with being a good assistant and helping to build the '05 squad. I suppose it's possible that JD did not pull his weight with the Quakes. Perhaps he isn't a good coach. I cannot say for certain. But he does have MLS experience.

    I do know this. At the Quakes office open house, Doyle, Dayak, and Baicher were there. So I very strongly suspect that JD will be involved with the team at some level.

    I am frankly surprised by the lack of love for JD in this forum. I have not heard anyone say: "He coached my kid's youth side and really sucked." or "I went to a bunch of Quakes practices and JD did jack all at all of them."

    Also, if Wolff and Earthquakes Soccer LLC want to sign someone within the next 30 days or so (down from 45), they cannot sign anyone currently employed in MLS. So my guess is, they don't announce a coach until either:

    A, the MLS season ends
    or
    B, Frank gets sacked by the evil, scum-sucking filth.

    If you know something I don't, how about you share?

    GOOOOO QUAKES!!!!!! :D :D

    - Mark
     
  18. davez

    davez Member+

    Aug 10, 2000
    Mountain View, CA
    Interesting list... I like it particularly Mariner, Simpson & Agoos - in addition to some of the other names added, I am fairly certain there will be a look at two former coaches:

    Dave Dir - took Dallas to the playoffs every year with a less than stellar squad talent wise.

    Ray Hudson - did a great job with Miami and so-so job with DC United, though I think he got hammered by the salary cap bind there...

    And one other:

    Paul Bravo - I know he's down in LA in an management position with the Filth, but he's a SCU grad, member of the inagural Clash team in '96 and has been involved with the league throughout its 12 years.

    I think we'll see Doyle/Baicher/Ekelund/Dayak as an assistant.
     
  19. Via_Chicago

    Via_Chicago Member

    Apr 1, 2004
    Bay Area, California
    Club:
    San Jose Earthquakes
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    Dir has been bandied about for years, but as far as I know, no one has really seriously considered him for a head coaching position. Not that there's anything wrong with that though. I think Dir would be a steady, solid choice, albeit uninspired. Has the league moved past him? Who knows?

    Hudson tried to bring in Paul Gascoine. Enough said.
     
  20. Sandon Mibut

    Sandon Mibut Member+

    Feb 13, 2001
    How about going outside the box a little and looking to the USL-1 for a head coach. And, no, I'm not talking about Laurie Calloway.:p

    Specifically, I'm talking about Seattle's Brian Schmetzer, a career soccer guy who is having very good success with the Sounders.

    He won the league title in 05 and with a game to go in the regular season has Seattle at the top of the table, (There are three teams within a point of first place, however, so if they lose this weekend they could finish third) which would be the second time in his six seasons the Sounders finish with the best record in the USL regular season.

    As a player, he signed with the NASL's Sounders right out of HS in 1980 and spent five seasons in the NASL before it folded in 1984 then played indoors, mainely with the San Diego Sockers, till hanging up his boots in 96. So, he's got a solid background as a player.

    More importantly, he's has a lot of success sending players to higher levels, from Briam Ching to Maykel Galindo to Cam Weaver so he seems like he's got a good eye for talent.

    Here is year-by-year record with Seattle.

    Code:
    YEAR		REG. SEASON	PLAYOFFS		OPEN CUP
    2007		15-6-6		???			4-1-0
    2006		11-13-4		DNP			0-1-0
    2005		11-6-11		*3-0-2			0-1-0
    2004		13-11-4		2-2-1			DNP
    2003		13-6-4		0-2-2			2-1-0
    2002		^23-4-1		0-2-0			1-1-0
    TOTALS:	        86-46-30	5-6-5			7-5-0
    
    * Won USL-1 title
    ^ Best USL-1 regular season record
    The Open Cup games include the 3-4 OT thriller with San Jose in 02 that the Quakes won on a 120th minute goal by Ariel Graziani (Ching scored against the Quakes in that game), a 1-0 win over San Jose in 03, and 3-1 and 5-0 wins over Colorado and Chivas this year before losing to Dallas 1-2 in OT. All told, Schmetzer is 3-3 vs. MLS teams in the USOC.

    For some reason, MLS teams hven't looked to the USL much for head coaches. I think the last former USL head coach to end up as a head coach in MLS was Bob Gansler, who obviously had a little more on his resume than just the A-League. In Europe, lower division coaches often get a shot at the top flight and the American Big Four league (well, not the NFL) have plenty of coaches get hired from the minors (and junior hockey in the NHL) but for some reason, it hasn't happened much in MLS.

    I still think that Yallop is gonna get canned in LA and end up on the NewQuakes sidelines next year, but if he isn't, I think Wolff & Co. would do well to consider a guy who has had consistent success at the level below MLS and go after a guy like Schmetzer.
     
  21. Earthshaker

    Earthshaker BigSoccer Supporter

    Sep 12, 2005
    The hills above town
    Club:
    San Jose Earthquakes
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    I agree that Schmetzer would be a great coach, however, my guess is, if the Roth/Hanauer group are awarded a MLS franchise for 2009, and there is evidence pointing that direction, Hanauer would tab Schmetzer as his coach.
     
  22. Sandon Mibut

    Sandon Mibut Member+

    Feb 13, 2001
    In the off chance you care, Seattle won its final regular season game tonight, and thus claimed the league's best regular season record (Commisioner's Cup, they call it in the USL) for the second time in Schmetzer's five seasons.

    This guy can coach.
     
  23. Sandon Mibut

    Sandon Mibut Member+

    Feb 13, 2001
    Perhaps.

    But, A) there's no guarantee that Seattle beats out St. Louis and Philly for the next round of expansion after the NewQuakes. (I just can't see them adding three teams in one year.)

    And B) Even if it is Seattle, there's no guarantee the Roth/Hanauer group will be the owners. One of the other groups, especially the Frenchies, could emerge the winners, especially if they're willing - and able - to build a SSS while the Rother/Hanauer group continues to see playing at Qwest as a long-term sollution. If it's a choice between a group with an SSS and a group looking to share an NFL stadium, I think MLS will go with the SSS group.

    And while I agree that the Hanauer/Roth group will strongly consider promoting Schmetzer, I don't see the Frenchies going that way.

    Bottom line is that too much is up in the air in Seattle for Schmetzer not to consider the San Jose (or any other MLS team) gig. And if he's interested, San Jose should return the interest, at least for an interview.
     
  24. Via_Chicago

    Via_Chicago Member

    Apr 1, 2004
    Bay Area, California
    Club:
    San Jose Earthquakes
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    I've already repped you for your other post, but you're absolutely right. The MLS has done a pretty woeful job of looking outside of its own circles. Hell, until Yallop in 2001, few teams even seemed willing to look outside the mainstays of U.S. soccer's coaching ranks. I'm pretty ignorant about the USL (mostly because I never get to watch it), but from what you've written about Schmetzer, he seems like he'd be a great candidate. The team could do a lot worse.
     
  25. lurking

    lurking Member+

    Feb 9, 2002
    Club:
    San Jose Earthquakes
    Nat'l Team:
    United States

    Ive heard ellinger is free.
     

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