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When you're hired to replace a successful head coach, particularly when that coach was dumped rather than retired or quit, you had better do at least as well as your predecessor.
By any measure, Carlos De Los Cobos has failed as Chicago Fire head coach since replacing Denis Hamlett, who was let go despite two successful seasons in charge. De Los Cobos has taken a talented team and led it to the brink of the worst season in the club's otherwise impressive history.
How bad is it for the Fire? Chicago is riding a seven match winless streak (six of those matches coming after the additions of Designated Players Freddie Ljungberg and Nery Castillo) and the skid has left the Fire 12 points out of the playoffs.
This for a team that came within a penalty kick shootout loss of the 2009 MLS Cup Final.
Here is my piece for Fox Soccer on De Los Cobos' forgettable first season in charge of the Fire. Give the story a read and let me know what you think of Chicago's coach and what's next for the Fire.
Share your thoughts below.
One thing people don’t seem to realize is that Hamlett is married and he has other things going on in Chicago and doesn’t want to leave. His wife also has a good job. Maybe he’s not interested in these other jobs? Of course, it’s not like these other teams are making great decisions either. Toronto, DC, Kansas City.
DLC needs to go. Maybe the team didn’t become a championship team under Hamlett, but DLC has destroyed a championship team. He needs to go. I don’t care about a system. You’re not going to be able to build a roster in MLS to play like Barca. If you want to try, have fun with six wins in 24 games. Feel better?
They would like to say Dave Saracan’s team leftovers, except he was their target as well. they got what they asked for with predictable results. The same
Mob hates Logan Pause, a very decent mls dm
My thoughts exactly, thanks for beating me to it. Words fail. Up the Metro!
Ives, great commentary. I’m a Fire fan and officially gave up on this season last weekend. There will definitely be a new coach on the sidelines next season.
Just a minor (or major?) adjustment that needs to be made to your thesis in your article:
In the fourth paragraph stating why the Fire have had such a miserable season, should it not be “can” instead of “can’t”?
here is good stuff on Hamlett showing his true colors: http://blogs.chicagosports.chicagotribune.com/soccer_redcard/2009/12/after-12-seasons-with-the-fire-hamlett-is-no-longer-still-right-here.html
Instant karma for firing a winning coach like Hamlett.
They brought in CDLC for more “attacking soccer”? What a joke! They haven’t scored in the run of play in a month!
If he wasn’t a good coach, how do you explain his two successful seasons in charge?
Beat me to it!
Let’s look at your logic. This is a league where Hamlett is fired and can’t get rehired, but where Onalfo gets a second head coach job, where DCL and Vazquez and Preki all flame out in spectacular fashion, and before them, Ruud Gullit…not to mention the way the Red Bulls handled their coaching carousel all these years.
If Hamlett can’t even get a sniff from MLS teams. maybe that speaks well about Hamlett.
Ives, nice article. Can you please focus the same lens on Kraft and his stewardship of the Revs and soccer in NE?
Yes, actualy.
Carlos DLC is no failure. I know failure. I’m the biggest joke of the MLS.
I do not blame this on De Los Cobos. It is not all De Los Cobos fault. Remember he came in with guys their were in the previous regime. The guys like Pause, Brown, McBride (who is on his legs), John, Lowry, Dimitrov, Carr, Lowry, Banner, Umanzor, Conde and Castillo won’t cut it in his system that he wants to form. Also, Frank Klopas should get his share of the blame for putting this roster; he needs to shape up the team next year or else. Ives thinks Hamlett was such a great coach, why did not get an MLS job right away instead he just got hired by IIT junior college in Chicago (aka computer engineering school)? Hamlett in Chicago, rubbed the media the wrong way with his smug fashion. Hamlett had a championship team couldn’t get past the Conference Finals with his inept coaching. De Los Cobos roster is totally different from Hamlett’s. De Los Cobos is new to the league compared to where he coached.
(SBI-I like how, in the same comment, you manage to make the points that A) De Los Cobos had too many of Hamlet’s old players and B) De Los Cobos’ roster is totally different from Hamlett’s. Which one is it? As for why Hamlett didn’t get another job yet, the only one that has been open since he was let go was D.C. and given how that situation went it probably isn’t a strike against him that he wasn’t considered. Hamlett did interview for the Portland job and will be a candidate for openings this winter.)
Sarachan and Hamlett were both canned for no cause. Bring back Sarachan – now doing a bang up as associate coach for the Galaxy.
Since you’re being a stand up guy about it,I’ll refrain from any further douchebaggery.
With that said, given we’re finally on the same page and both Fire supporters, I ask: what now?
Any particular manager come to mind on your radar or stay the course?
My personal opinion: heads need to roll in the front office. Giving Hamlet the boot, investing too much salary cap in Mapp over Rolfe and finally this hiring. It’s time to hold them accountable.
even we arent that desperate
perhaps we can go back in time and prevent this hiring?? perhaps convince Klopas to look elsewhere
glad that its finally not happening to you??
I defended him on BS too and took my hits for it.
I’ve defended him for awhile. I’ll admit it.
Your point?
Hey Fire fans! I hear that Juan Carlos Osorio is looking for work!!
HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA
A typo though:
“Since Hauptman bought the Fire, the club has had three head coaches and is extremely likely to have a fourth coach on the sidelines when 2010 begins. ”
Uh, 2010 already began.
There’s only one man for the Chicago job and we all know who it is.
Great article. Well thought out.
As an RBNY supporter, I cannot express how much I’m enjoying the Fire’s Failure this season.
I am suprised there is no mention in the article of the lose of Blanco. There is a lot of talent in that team but when you lose a guy that talented and who for whatever reason is just a winner, it changes a teams makeup.
Says the schmuck who defended DLC when I voiced my extreme displeasure for his ineptitude MONTHS & MONTHS ago when I called for his head.
Welcome to the “sanity party”. 99.9% of us have been here for ages.
Moron.
Btw, I’d be happy to provide links later tonight in the event you pretend to act clueless to my reference of our interaction.
Extremely poor job by dlC, I agree. Partly a classic case of overcoaching: whether they won or lost, the line-up for next game was guaranteed to be different. Partly just really bad decision making – loosing your starting goalkeeper right before the season start and then going with a rookie who ends up being replace half way through the season with another rookie (this one actually good) – wtf? That’s bush-league stuff, pun intended. Chicago has the potential to have a very solid midfield with Nyarko, Pappa, Husidic, Pause, Thorington, and for a brief while in June they all seemed to click somewhat, but the changes just kept coming ….
much of the problem lies with player management, Chicago had opportunities in the off season to bring in a quality CM (the major source of Chicago’s woes).The front office also was slow at bringing in relief players, even though he was impressive in training and they had a roster slot open ;it took them 3 months to sign Ristic.There are other glaring issues which have taken place over the last year with personnel decisions,Carlos is the easy target here-but not the only one at fault.When it comes down to it the off season decision to pass over competent and available European playmakers-and wait it out for something more “marketable” is the knife in this years season.This goes to the top of the organization and possibly to NY with the league office’s desire for Chicago to have at least one well known Mexican player at Toyota Park.
Chicago lost all of those games after Ljungberg arrived……
Man, I wonder what Seattle has done since he left ?
Hottest team in the league ?!!?
Who would have thought ?
I mean besides me, many, many months ago….
He is just not MLS starter quality.
Ives — MAXIMUM R-E-S-P-E-C-T!!!!!
Dennis Hamlet, you are welcome to DC anytime. I’m not sure why he does not have a job in MLS. I am happy to see a DC-rival sucking even though my team is the suckiest of them all this season. They have top notch talent and can’t get it done. Time for a change.
He’s played either John or BMB all season as lone strikers, occassionally partnering them up with a roaming 2nd striker. But he has no idea how to get his team to work together. We see flashes, but it never pans out
I havent’ seen many people mention the loss of Rolfe from last year.
There is encouragement for the future, as flashes have been shown from Nyarko and Pappa. The enigmas remain Castillo and Collins John. Also, underrated play from Logan Pause.
Too often their 4-1-4-1 becomes more of a 6-3-1, unable to counterattack and impose their style (whatever the hell that is) on the opponent.
Sean Johnson has the makings of a top MLS GK.
A quick turnaround next year can be had if the team has a system in place that it believes in, with a competent coach who doesn’t make HORRIBLE substitutions.
If we were in the same spot but were at least playing attractive attack minded football i wouldnt concern myself. BUT, we are playing extremely POORLY and doing this bad.
If i saw improvement towards dlC’s playing style and were still hit with unfavorable results, id give him a 2nd season
HOWEVER, i see no signs of improvement and dont see it happening over the offseason. Its time to find a new manager, and dlC will go back to El Salvador where he’s wanted
Oter,
Couldn’t he start McBride OR John as the target man with Ljungberg behind him? That’s essentially what he did on Saturday but with Calen Carr as the lone striker. If you want your wingers to get involved in the game, then you’re going to need to have somebody up top who can hold the ball and distribute out wide. Carr is not that player.
An additional note. For all the games Ljungberg played in Seattle, I never felt he had a natural position. I’m not sure he’s better as an attacking CM with freedom to roam, or whether he’s better out wide. I can’t help thinking that if he plays centrally, he’ll end up roaming into the space of whoever is playing wide right. For that reason, I don’t think Ljungberg in a central position makes much sense.
I think people are overrating the talent on chicago.. They have an about to retire brown and mcbride who are a year older. They have headcases they have bounced around in John and Castillo ( when he plays) , They have Krol who didn’t seem to work out , young guys who need time, and then the injuries that hit nyarko and pappa especially through out the year..
Did the fire expect better yes , is DLC getting enough from the players no, is he playing the right system for the players no, but is this team as good as the one 2 years ago or even last year? no ..
unfortunately, our lack of success started way before Ljungberg and Castillo’s arrival
If results were the end all be all determinate then sure, but there was plenty of drama off field (as well as on field) to warrant the firing.
If i had the option between dlC and Hamlett, id surely pick Hamlett. No contest. He’s capable b/c he knows MLS and able to keep his players playing honest. The team under dlC looks scared and out of comfort. In his defense though, he was handed apples and was told to make Orange juice.
that would actually force dlC to play with 2 strikers, and god forbid he ever do that :-/
Karma. Hamlett never should have been fired.
They deserve this bad spell.
McBride doesn’t.
Shocking that you can’t find a way to pair guys like McBride or John with some of their talent. I was shocked to see the lineup the Fire put on the field against Seattle last weekend. It was an attacking lineup focused on a target forward, but DLC didn’t include either of his target forwards.
I actually think he should stay. It’s always fun to see opposing teams coached into irrelevance.
Could the lack of success have anything to do with two hugely ineffective designated players?
Or maybe a team that was definitely not as good as the one that was headed by the coach that got “dumped”?
Nice article, Ives. Fair enough, harsh enough. Some management moves are gambles, and some don’t pay off. Bad judgment mixed with bad luck spells a bad season.
Its too bad too being McBride’s final season and all that he has to go out with such a slumping team. Freddie L is possibly the biggest waste of money an MLS team has spent.
As a Fire fan, I do not understand other Fire fans defending this clown. I’ve wanted his head since the Toronto game a few weeks back and they’ve lost 3 straight since then.
I don’t drive 3 hours one way to Toyota Park just to watch the third most expensive team in the league get outclassed on the pitch by scrub teams like T dot.
Or hell even a proper college job?
Ives your just loving what is going on in Chicago aren’t you! Though CDLC is obviously not working out do you really think Hamlett was all the good of a coach is so why didn’t he get a sniff of a MLS job?
(SBI-Not really. I’d love to see Chicago have a good team and doing well. The myth that I hate Chicago is right up there with the old myth that I hate Columbus. Just because I call a team out on things doesn’t mean I have something against it. Just saying what I feel needs to be said.)
Well written article too Ives. I read it earlier and then again when you just posted it. It made me realize how harsh I was on DH when I didn’t realize it could get worse.
DLC has got to go. Period.
All the right players coupled with all the wrong decisions has crippled this squad this year.
BTW: Bedoya just scored in the first minute.
Piss on the fire. I’m loving this Schadenfreude at the moment.