The CUSA Coaching Carousel: Four Potential Hires
Teams with unstable histories don’t tend to get coaches with proven track records. We lucked out when Bob Bradley accepted his offer. After accomplishing so much with Chicago, Bradley had mediocre showings with the MetroStars, bringing his status down a notch and giving the Goats a shot at his services. Other than Bradley, CUSA has settled on what has turned out to be a bunch of ex-players looking to get their start in coaching. It works out nicely for the front office considering the cost is cheap.
When looking at our history of “starting” coaches, or coaches that start a season, 4 things stand out:
1. Of the coaches hired to start the season, only 2 had MLS head coaching experience (Thomas Rongen and Bob Bradley). Those 2 happened to be the first “starting” head coaches ever signed.
2. After Bob Bradley, CUSA has signed “starting” coaches with no previous MLS head coaching experience. (Preki, Vasquez, Fraser, Chelis)
3. Other than Rongen (who was hired 7 months prior to the team’s first game), the average time spent in a coaching search was around 3.5 months.
4. 3 of the 6 “starting” coaches were hired with only assistant coaching experience (Preki, Vasquez, and Fraser)
Again, there’s a solid reason for these trends: proven coaches don’t want to coach an unstable team with a frugal owner. They want to not only get paid, but be able to have all the resources necessary to build a proper roster and that ain’t happening at CUSA. All signs point to this trend continuing until the team can either win more games or unless Don Garber (aka FC Garber) can lay down some influence and make Chivas USA more than a soccer club in name only.
So yeah, by far and away the most important thing that can be done right now is signing a coach. The roster is beyond incomplete and needs to take form before any available players start to sign with other clubs. Coaching styles need to match up with players signed and drafted and any identity or chemistry will need to wait until all this is figured out. I’m betting that it’s later rather than sooner, but I’m still hoping for the best.
In any case, here’s a quick checklist detailing what needs to be addressed when signing a new coach:
- Must have a proven track record with young players (considering our young roster)
- Must have MLS experience and know what he’s doing in a league with a different set of rules and norms
- Must be fluent in Spanish
- BONUS: Must have the cojones to be able
ask forDEMAND additional resources from Vergara.
Here are the candidates. Nothing official here, just some worth-while targets to speculate on.
Coaches with Head Coaching Experience:
Jesse Marsch – a CUSA legend and field general. Fans love him. Never got a fair shot coaching in Montreal (dealt with another impatient owner) but at least has now he knows what it takes to lead an MLS club on the field. Family used to live in Manhattan Beach during his time at CUSA and im taking a wild guess and saying he didnt move his family permanently to Montreal. In any case, he recently traveled around the world with his family – came back fully recharged and ready to get back at it. Marsch is of the Bob Bradley mold – he played for him both with Chicago Fire, CUSA, and at Princeton . Has 14 years experience as a player and knows the league. Currently a volunteer assistant coach and is waiting for an MLS coaching vacancy.
Chance of happening: 40% – Marsch could be a sneaky pickup here. CUSA fans would embrace the hire with open arms. He knows the MLS system and would probably be willing to push aside the idea that Vergara wouldn’t give him the resources to build a contender. All Marsch wants is another opportunity to build his resume and a job with CUSA could be a perfect stepping stone.
Bob Bradley – Recently finished his stint in Egypt where he failed to qualify in a brutal African qualifying tournament and his contract was not renewed. Flirted with the Whitecaps position (eventually declined the opportunity) and is supposedly in talks with Norwegian club Stabaek. Some might say that Bradley has nothing left to accomplish in MLS, yet if he’s interested in some random club like Stabaek in some random league like the Tippeligaen, then can we really say Bradley’s objective is to accomplish something?
But then he said this:
So there’s that. Maybe Bradley sees Stabaek as a unique opportunity to get his foot in the door of European club soccer. It’s a low step, though, considering Stabaek was recently relegated to the 2nd division but has qualified for promotion this upcoming season, but like they say, you gotta start at the bottom and pay your dues.
Chance of happening: .01% – Wants to coach in Europe and CUSA appears to be the team that would pay him the least. The only hope CUSA fans should have is based on the fact that Bradley actually interviewed with MLS clubs, just not CUSA.
Coaches With No Head Coaching Experience:
Eric Wynalda – Currently the technical director for the Atlanta Silverbacks of the NASL, Wynalda has a history of publicly saying he’d be interested in the CUSA job. One of the greatest attackers in US history and he has MLS playing experience. I like Wynalda and would think he’d be a great hire, but my real concern would be that his only head coaching experience is revolved around being interim coach with the Silverbacks along with amateur side Cal FC. On the other hand, as coach he pulled off an amazing string of victories by taking Cal FC to the fourth round of the 2012 US Open Cup. Also, Cal FC isnt all that different from CUSA in that CUSA is run like an amateur club (SNAP!). Wynalda’s an analyst extraordinaire and has even served time calling various CUSA games. Raised in LA, lives in LA.
Chance of happening: 25% – He’s interviewed with a myriad of MLS clubs, but keeps getting turned down. If it were up to me, I’d give Wynalda a shot, but history is against him. It’d be a long shot, but at the same time, I wouldn’t be surprised if it happened.
Wilmer Cabrera – Currrent Colorado assistant under Oscar Pareja. The only coaching candidate that has actually has been in communication with CUSA. Then again, there’s talk that CUSA only spoke with the Rapids to ask for permission to talk to Cabrera and there’s no word on whether Cabrera has talked directly with CUSA. Cabrera’s contract ends December 31 and has been offered an extension by the Rapids but is still weighing his options. He’s the former u17 USMNT coach and has successful experience coaching young players. Oh, and he’s Colombian, played with the Colombian national team, and speaks the Vergara tongue.
The more and more I think about Cabrera, the more I’m starting to think he’d be the perfect fit for us at the moment. He knows the league and has even worked directly for MLS as a Manager of Fan Development. In his experience with the US U17 squad, he has been successful, effective, and has demonstrated the ability to get the most out of his players. His ability to handle immaturity both on and off the field could be beneficial considering considering the club is filled with players just above the legal drinking limit. While U17 coach, he helped develop quality players like Juan Agudelo, Marc Pelosi, Luis Gil, Jack McInerney, and Perry Kitchen. He also just recently was on the Rapids staff that helped a young roster exceed expectations.
Cabrera didn’t continue on with the U-17 squad because the Federation only offered him a 1 year contract extension. This could be an issue since Vergara isn’t exactly stable and is quick to pull the trigger a coach for any reason. He’s dumped coaches like he’s changed underwear and will probably do it quickly again.
If the intent of the club is to literally build a winner from the ground up, utilizing local young talent and developing them into solid professional ball players, then Cabrera seems to be the perfect man for the job. This could be an absolute steal.
Chance of happening: 65% – Looks like the front-runner, but even then is far from being a lock.
Others:
Some Random CDGuadalajara reject – porfa, no more yes men.
Chance of happening: normally, this would lie at around 95%, but FC Garber gives me hope. Still, I’ll go with 50%
The Next Caleb Porter (College coach looking to jump to MLS)– not exactly the best deal for fans, but it would be a decent target for the FO. Cheap, experience working with youth, and is almost worth a roll of the dice. Wait, this Wilmer Cabrera could be the next Caleb Porter. Porque no?
Chance of happening: low – I don’t think FC Garber would even push for a move like this. Garber needs CUSA to start making productive moves now and considering the club’s status, there’s no room to take a flier on a college coach. Unless it’s not a college coach and its instead Wilmer Cabrera. (See what I did there?)
GrinGoats 