News: Fire TBD - the Next Coach Thread

Harkes mentioned to me years ago that he'd love to coach DC United. I wonder if he still feels the same way.

 

No offense to Ellis but my dogs could coach the women’s team to at least the final game of the World Cup.

 

I'll let you go through my entire posting history on these forums. Every. Single. Post. Find me a single line, a single word where I attack Olsen as a man, or his family or his personal honor (whatever that is). I'll wait right here for you to complete this strawman exercise in futility.

As a coach, and as a potential "head of scouting/talent" or front office management type, yea he deserves it and no I don't feel guilty because the decorum-ites want me to feel so.

 

Ellis’s main jo wasn’t strategy. It was managing egos. She did that superbly .

 

How about DC United interview Mark Parsons

 

When was she ever coaching without superior talent? That's never going to be the case here. And to her credit, I can only recall one notable loss, the quaters against Sweden at the Olympics when they bunkered in heroic fashion. Its a shit way to win IMO, but its 100% valid. Things happen and this is why you play the game.

I can't imagine why he'd come here now. He has to know that there are serious issues with ownership's commitment to winning and my guess is legend or not, he'd have to know that there will be significant pressure to produce a winner in fairly short order. Ben used up a lot of the team's cred with the fan base. The next guys isn't getting a super long leash.

So this is a tough one for me. We've run into him walking into AF, on Potomac Ave, a couple of times. He's a very normal, affable guy to chat with. His son is a little younger than ours is a cute kid and is obsessed with the scene in the supporter section. He's often watching the flags waving, people jumping and beer getting tossed instead of the game. We sit in the front row, almost directly behind his box. He wants this team to win, you can see it in how he watches the game while almost everyone else is socializing. He watches the game like a super stressed fan, he actually reminds me of my 11 yo watching the game. Levien often stands alone just outside of the box, a bit hunched over, gripping the railing, watching the game silently and intensely. Having had this view of him, he strikes me in a very Dan Snyder-esque sort of way minus the overt front office meddling. Perhaps Levien didn't grow up as a fan of United like Snyder was with the football team, but it would make him no less of a fan. I think both guys are almost trapped in situations of their own making that isn't turning out how they wanted.

I've had the same feeling, about wanting to confront him about the team's performance and I have chosen not to for a variety of reasons. Not the least of which is how uncomfortable it would be to face someone down over something I love and I think they love too, but he's governed by many of the same financial realities that govern your life or mine, just on a different scale. And maybe that understanding is enough for me. I think he's haunted by some of the promises that were implied by his statements (to the fans, the city, and the team in general) in trying to get the stadium deal done. And at the end of the day, what am I really going to get out of it? What am I going to do, make him feel bad about failing? My list of failings is likely longer, all be it, not as grand and I'd hate someone to come up to me and ask me why I played kid A or B at position X or Y in the all star tournament final game last fall.

While I appreciate all of this, I yearn for an owner like Arthur Blank who could come, give this team the things is needs to be a contender and the resources to truly put the club over the top when the opportunity arises. You play the game because having the best players, coaches and facilities only make you better on paper. You still have to go out and win on the field. Ask Leonsis & Ovi how that goes. Nothing is guaranteed.

 

I switched them on 2nd thought. So pretend I didn't and I had Harkes above Kreis.

 

I'm a deep pessimist, and believe it to be the result of rationale processes. We have sh*t ownership. Nothing changes until new ownership commits to the level of excellence and passion that existed in the past. This is a cultural issue almost as bad as the WTF, without the crude fest unique to Snyder boy.

 

In terms of why Harkes would come here if he knows the organization has problems... He's never coached at this level, and the organization having problems is his parachute. There's no scenario, short of, say, him having sex with Dave Kasper's wife, in which he comes out of this looking worse. He's either a success or he's failed to turn around a flawed organization's fortunes, and he has MLS coaching experience on his resume.

 

Plus he’s in his mid-50’s. If he’s looking to be a success at the highest level (possible, for him) he needs to jumpstart his coaching career. Otherwise it’s probably a series of low-paying gigs in the lower-reaches of USL. He’s already trending that direction, going from MLS assistant, to USL to whatever tier USL League One occupies.

Thx,

Jay!

 

Excellent perspective

I agree and as much I was seething a few days ago...I'm fine now. Having met Kasper face to face without incident (for basically the same reason) I know it wouldn't make sense to actually upbraid anyone else in the current FO for their failures

 

I've run into Kasper a couple of times at either RFK or Audi Field. Had pleasant interactions with him both times (especially in an Audi Field elevator when I was the only person to recognize him). I'm not going to take a rare moment of interaction with a high level team exec to be angry or obnoxious with him.

 

I saw Billy Beane just left the Oakland A's to pursue interests in other sports. There are rumors he's part of an ownership group looking to buy an EPL team. Levien should at least give him a call and see if he's interested in joining the ownership group.

 

just seen this on twitter in Pablo Maurer's mentions

Ready. Available. Always with a plan.

— Hugo Perez (@HugoPerezDT) October 13, 2020

not gonna get my hopes up but I would INSTANTLY be interested in season tickets if they actually gave him a year or two to build something in DC

 

Good idea, but...having Chang flashbacks.

 

Goff has posted ten names for consideration. In no particular order, they are:

Chris Armas
Sasho Cirosvski
John Hackworth
John Harkes
Jason Kreis
Carlo Llamosa
Preki Radosavljevic
Brian Schmetzer
Jill Ellis
Richie Williams

Schmetzer has a good deal going in Seattle, but his contract is up. I don't see him leaving. And Sasho has spent 27 years (I think) with UMD and has surely been approached before, to no avail.

 

Chris Armas - No
Sasho Cirosvski - won't consider the job
John Hackworth - No
John Harkes - Yes
Jason Kreis - No
Carlo Llamosa - Maybe
Preki Radosavljevic - Petr Novak redux - No
Brian Schmetzer - Someone is sniffing glue
Jill Ellis - Yes
Richie Williams - Yes

 

I assume it’ll be the person that can be manipulated the easiest, at a bargain basement cost.

 

Generally, I agree with you. But I would change Kreis to a "yes."

 

Gonna add Maurer's list to this and rate each:

Chris Armas - NO, would not support this move under any circumstances
Sasho Cirosvski - too late, if they wanted this move it should've been years ago
John Hackworth - not what we need
John Harkes - safe choice, could be great fit, could be a bust...wouldn't hate this
Jason Kreis - not interested anymore but they could do worse than him, as a 1 yr transition to someone better i'd be fine with him

Carlo Llamosa - YES, club legend and quietly gained experience as an MLS asst
Preki Radosavljevic - NO
Brian Schmetzer - doubt it's possible and with his resume i'd take him, don't think ownership will give the support he needs tho

Jill Ellis - NO, she seems like too much of a gamble, also, for her sake I hope she runs...I expect her to become a scapegoat for our problems

Richie Williams - same as Cirovski...too late (with added bonus that I think he actually sucks based on handling of USSF and RBNY teams)

Pat Noonan - NO WAY IN HELL, I could never accept him leading DCU
Dom Kinnear - NO
David Wagner - YES, ties to BVB era Klopp and time in England have me excited but doubt he's ready to close the door on Europe right now

Nolan Sheldon - No, shouldve been our interim coach...not worth gambling to see if he can hang at top level imho

Gonzalo Pineda - No, a gamble not worth taking
Marcelo Gallardo - OK but seems unrealistic according to reports of his salary
CJ Brown - his range of experience is intriguing...would be happy to have a black coach but he hardly seems like the best candidate (they should probably interview him)

Ezra Hendrickson - YES, would not complain...it burned me up watching him gain experience with Sounders instead of DCU, would love for him to get a shot here

 

What these lists don't have is, for example, English Championship coaches who would take the job as a springboard to something in the Premiership; and the same for other Euro candidates ,and CONCACAF coaches who might want something new with a roster with several Hispanic speakers.

 

Richie Williams isn’t a no but a hell no

 

Why Kreis? His records at NYCFC and Orlando were terrible. He won a cup, yes, but in 2009 which is another era in MLS. He also had Lagerway at RSL, IRRC, he ran the show completely in both NYCFC and Orlando and failed miserably.