Anyone think she was bought out to make way for Overbeck to take over? However it came about, Carla now has the perfect opportunity to finally realize her playing days are over, step into something almost everyone agrees she would excel at, and stay right at home. Retire already Carla! As for Marcia, she proved a number of people wrong in 2002. Granted, she had nothing to work with in 2001 and lots to work with in 2002, so her performance may just have reflected the quality of players she had, but I think she had something to do with their stellar season. I also think it's a shame that the only female head coah of the first two years is now gone (granted Sundhage is in place in Boston now and Overbeck may well replace McD). Good luck Marcia.
Well let's just suppose Carla won't take on the head coaching duties for the Courage in 2003..... Will the Courage have the same problems as San Diego has had the past couple of months in finding a coach? Gotta agree with DCU...Carla is perfect for this gig. It's in her backyard. Her career is done. She has coaching experience from Dook. BUT...she has said that she wants to play in 2003. But that was before this bomb dropped. I guess a name that is likely to pop up is Mr. Wendy Gebaurer. Assistant with both UNC and the USWNT. Rumored to be the top pick when this franchise relocated from Orlando to Carolina.
At least Marcia was able to turn the Courage around from first to worst before she "stepped down." It's kind of better to go out on a bang than with your head down. This would be a perfect opportunity to let Carla get a coaching job- close to home and with a team she likes doesn't sound so bad. Does Carla have a 5 year contract since she is a founding player, or not because she replaced Akers? If she does, coaching still fills that contract, right?
Oh no! I'm very sorry to see McDermott go. I wonder how this will affect the team? I wonder if the players knew this was coming. Yikes!
My biggest concern during the off-season was that Hege Riise might decide to retire. My next concern was for the Courage to get a quality fourth international player (hopefully Solveig Gulbrandsen), and then finally I was hoping that the rest of the key starters from last season would all return. I am really stunned because it never even crossed my mind that Marcia McDermott wouldn't be back. I'm very happy for Marcia that she returned this past season and had so much such success after having had such a disappointing first season, but at the same time I am so very surprised that she won't be coming back to help the Courage defend their title. I really appreciate everything Marcia has done for the Courage organization and wish her the best of luck at whatever she decides to do in the future.
i was shocked when i read that. I can't believe - that wasn't supposed to happen. When we were talking about who would/could take over, I do have to admit that Carla was the first name that popped into my head. I think that Wendy would make a great coach, though. i wonder if they'll even ask her...
Carla As Player-Coach If Carla isn't quite ready to completely retire yet I wonder if there is any chance of her becoming a player-coach next season? If she did do this, I wonder if part of her salary that she would receive for coaching would then NOT be counted against the team's salary cap?
It says here that basically she had always intended to leave after 2 years. http://sports.newsobserver.com/sports/story/1913907p-1895497c.html
If she had planned from the beginning to coach only two years, why did she wait until now to announce it? This leaves them in a bad position for coach-hunting. Unless there is some kind of done deal, and they are waiting for the college season to end to announce the new coach.
My guess is that the only people that knew about this were WUSA brass and Jerome Ramsey. Everyone else was out of the loop. Why? I think so as to not be of any concern to her players. I think it would have been detrimental to the team to be going through the 2002 season with everyone questioning who was going to coach in 2003.
No, I meant why didn't she announce it as soon as the WUSA season was over. That's been what--almost three months? They could have started looking for a coach then. But maybe they have a college coach lined up and he/she didn't want any distractions or announcements during the college season.
New Coach? What about Gavin Thomas? He's in Atlanta and was the finalist for the San Diego job. He was the former Arsenal coach.
He's got a better job. ------ Fact - The league is too fragile for guarantees. Fact - College coaches tend to have lifetime gigs. Fact - The original 8 coaches were signed on 2 year contracts. I'm guessing the contracts were guaranteed, with the money escrowed, in case the league went under. Pure Conjecture - I suspect negotiations broke down between McDermott and the Courage or WUSA. It's likely that she wanted both a raise and some guaranteed number of years - more than one. I'm completely guess here, but I guess the team and/or league is unwilling to meet any demands. ---- As much as I called for her head after 2001 (an opinion I still stand by - we did finish last, afterall), this is horrible timing.
Andy, Why is this horrible timing? No time is "good" for a coaching change, but this doesn't seem so bad to me. Collegiate coaches are ready for interviewing now that most are done, the post college-season "combines" are later, and the draft is later. The only thing I can think of would be the inability to scout Europe and Asia, but I haven't a clue as to whether this is bad timing in that regards or not. I can think of much worse times than this. (BTW, I agree with you that Palladino would likely be a strong candidate if he had interest).
That's not published. I would be surprised if they were. The cost of living differences between say San Jose and San Diego or New York and Raleigh-Durham alone are cause for some difference.
As much as I called for her head after 2001 (an opinion I still stand by - we did finish last, afterall), this is horrible timing. [/B][/QUOTE] Andy, here is a little update, we won the regular season and the postseason, taking the worst team to first. Why would you stand by a statement calling for someones head....just say "I underestimated Marsha". Secondly, look at the WUSA's coaching history, 8 coaches began now 4 remain. A college coach who makes $60,000 Salary and $100,000 Camp (low ball figures) should take a moment of pause and consider there is a 50% chance they will not be employed 2years from the day they take the job. So any coach at Virginia, Clemson, Santa Clara etc.... would most likely not be interested in the job.
Coaches As Lemur notes, the following quote from Andy Mead is nearly unbelievable in the present context: As much as I called for her head after 2001 (an opinion I still stand by - we did finish last, afterall), this is horrible timing. [/QUOTE] Lemur goes on to note: Andy, here is a little update, we won the regular season and the postseason, taking the worst team to first. Why would you stand by a statement calling for someones head....just say "I underestimated Marsha". Better not start, Lemur. Mr. Mead has been consistently negative on Coach McDermott. Notice that even though he is overjoyed she is gone, he STILL criticizes her for her timing! I'm sure he will soon tell us when a better time would have been. I thought she did a good job, and I will miss her. She seemed to understand the rules of the game better than anyone and used them to help the Courage. Getting Prinz, Fettig. Lehn, and James was pretty good. Her drafts were OK. Some may have preferred Wambach to Slaton in retrospect, but I think the Slaton choice was merited by the previous season's weak defense. Her other draft choices were not too memorable, but I can't think of someone in the league she passed on who became a star. As for AM's speculation about contracts and such, I have one question. Did the Coach of the Year KK receive a two-year contract extension and a big raise? Did any coach? I have no idea. But I am curious. Looking at New York and San Diego, getting a good new coach may not be so easy. The Courage roster is better than those two teams, though, so TdC or BP may be interested. I hope so. Go Courage! JSS
Holy crap John, who pissed in your coffee? Quit making stuff up, okay? I don't warn others about your posts... 1) I am not overjoyed at her leaving. Where did I imply that? Please quote and explain. 2) Where do I criticize McDermott over the timing of her departure? Where? It's the club's responsibility to keep the coach on board, not McDermott's. It's a little thing called reading comprehension. 3) As far as I know, from my dealings with her, there is no anomosity between coach and myself. We certainly don't agree on everything, but I have not detected and personal antipathy. I am entitled to my opinions - as is everyone else. If my opinions are upsetting, I recommend putting me on your Ignore List. I am a Carolina Courage supporter through and through. 4) Lemur (welcome to BigSoccer), you backed my point. McDermott ended her stay at Northwestern on a real low note. It was easy for her to walk away from what had - for whatever reason - been a dreadful couple of years. That was two years ago. Now she's riding a huge wave of positive publicity and results. Her personal stock is very high after the Courage's season. The figures you state for college coaches are definitely attainable for WUSA's Coach of the Year. If I were in her shoes I'd look at making myself and my family financially secure. She would have to be on the short list of any top level coaching job that opens up. And top level coaching jobs in women's soccer can be worth lots of $$$$ for many, many years. On the other side, WUSA is a gamble - how long will it last? If the Courage slip back down the standings, then what happens to her personal stock if the league folds - not only that, there'll be 7 other WUSA coaches looking for jobs. It looks like the Courage and/or WUSA were not willing to meet her negotiation demands. I don't blame her at all. 5) I think this is terrible for the Courage. The team had really come around, and it is definitely her team. A new coach, whoever it might be, is going to have to do some starting over. - Heeligan - sorry for the opening comment, but I'm tired of folks spinning everything I say as being negative. Please leave it in. Here's a scene of McDermott clearly bothered by my presence: