There is no legitimate reason they shouldn't have a coach by now. NONE. The team and the league are really pissing me off right now, to the point that I'm considering backing out of my season membership. I probably won't because I'm a sucker, but they are actually making me question whether or not I should spend less (or NO) money on their product.
The trouble with canceling a season membership is that you don’t get your money back - only a credit. Krafty has your money no matter what.
Unless, that is, Bob Kraft JUST got around to watching Ted Lasso. In which case, inspired by said television series' storyline, he could be waiting for the completion of the 2023 NFL season on January 7th, after which he'll announce that Bill Belichick will be resigning as head coach of the New England Patriots in order to take over as manager of the New England Revolution. (You know what? You're right. That wouldn't be a legitimate reason even if it WAS the legitimate reason. Which I'm not prepared to rule out.)
BREAKING: The New England Revolution is finalizing a deal to name Caleb Porter their next head coach, sources tell The Athletic.Porter is a two-time MLS Cup-winning head coach with Columbus and Portland.Reporting with @PaulTenorio https://t.co/H7vIwx4x2q— Tom Bogert (@tombogert) December 19, 2023
I have no idea how to feel about this. It doesn’t immediately excite me. Every time they take this long to fill the position, I find myself expecting to be WOWED by the selection. And then, every time and no offense to Porter, it winds up being a pretty simple retread.
I'm glad the decision has been made. The Crew fan that posted here doesn't give many reasons to be optimistic about Porter and FWIW, I've heard a variety of the same type of talk from friends in Portland and Columbus. But here's hoping this works out. I'll say one thing, if this fails miserably, this has to be the last hire that Bilello is part of. They can't keep having the same person in charge of hiring.
In addition, the Glob has nothing about this as of this morning. They only have a another fluff piece submitted by Frank that scatters Biello BS everywhere. It's all about ticket sales and the Messi game at Foxborough. The Athletic and the Musket beat them to the (coach hire) headline.
This was the name I did NOT want to hear from the list of candidates that was being hashed out in various places. Oh well. Not excited mostly because of reading the Columbus boards, but who knows, maybe it'll work out.
I dunno, I guess I'm just whelmed by all of this. Not over or underwhelmed, just whelmed. I was fearing they'd bring in some ex-Rev with zero coaching experience, a guy who is chomping at the bit to get into coaching and would take orders from literally anyone just to get his foot in the door for a couple of years. I also was concerned with what the Crew fan posted earlier, but at least he's won something in the past and is a legit coach, whatever faults he may have. People talk about retreads, guys who've been around the block a few times, but there is a reason they keep getting hired. Case in point, what is Mike Burns doing now? I say let's give him the benefit of the doubt, let him do his thing, and while I don't see him turning into Brad Friedel in the first few months, if he wears out his welcome by year 3, be ready to make a change.
At the very least I'm sure he's more capable of handling optimal line-ups and prudent substitutions. Richie and Peay, couldn't get that right and it cost us many points.
Yes, and those dropped points were enough to make us 2nd or 3rd in the East, and possibly a very different playoff story. We won't even mention the lost points from all the late goals given up, not to mention being robbed of Farrell's goal that would have given us a point vs. the MetroFilth...
Official 🏆🏆Introducing two-time MLS Cup winner and ninth head coach in club history, Caleb Porter! 🔵🔴🫡⬇️— New England Revolution (@NERevolution) December 19, 2023
Well, on the plus side I expect Caleb won't mess with the Gil-centric philosophy, as it mirrors what he had in Portland with Diego Valeri.
Well the plus is he won in college and as an MLS coach. Minus is he has a rep for being a jerk. If we win the cup I can over look him being a douche. FWIW Bruce was a d bag when I met him so ....
LOL Yeah, my previous encounters with Arena were, um, not necessarily pleasant, but once we hired him, I could rationalize it by saying sure he's a jerk, but he's OUR jerk!
I guess I'm on board with this. It's not like the team needs to be rebuilt. It needs to be tweaked and focused in the right direction - so for that reason I'm good with this. Porter may well wear out his welcome eventually, but if he can get the Revs on a deep playoff and/or cup run - this was a good hire. The page has been turned finally on the Bruce era - for better or worse. I'm looking forward to the new season.
Sometimes I think the Revs can't win with this crowd. They just hired a head coach with a record of MLS success. I was trying to think of all the head coaches they've hired like that before and, besides Arena, the only name that springs to mind is Thomas Rontgen. Maybe Porter will wear out his welcome in three years, but based on his track record, I'll take it.
Yeah, good points. I'm going to walk back my post up-thread about not wanting Porter - that was just wishful thinking with my sporting director hat on. Now that he's here, lets go full championship mode and re-assess in a couple years. I think 3 years would be a pretty good stint for an MLS coach on the balance of the league's turnover!