The Portland Timbers aren't wasting time when it comes trying to find the head coach that will guide the team into the next era.
The Oregonian is reporting that the Timbers have offered their coaching job to University of Akron head coach and former U.S. Under-23 head coach Caleb Porter.
The job offer isn't the first time an MLS club has offered Porter a head coaching position. D.C. United offered Porter the job before the 2010 season, but Porter turned it down and eventually signed a long-term contract with Akron, the No. 1 ranked team in the latest SBI College Top 25.
Porter, 37, helped guide Akron to the 2011 NCAA title, and his program has produced several top young pro players in recent years, such as Teal Bunbury, Steve Zakuani, Darlington Nagbe, Perry Kitchen and Zarek Valentin to naame a few.
His coaching reputation took a hit after the U.S. Under-23s failed to qualify for the 2012 Olympics, but Portland's interest in his services make it clear that the failure to qualify for the Olympics has not diminished Porter's reputation as one of the most talented young coaching talents in American soccer.
What do you think of this development? Think Porter would be a good hire in Portland? Who would you like to see land the job?
Share your thoughts below.
Once again crap gets done backwards in the US. Coaching and MLS team, after the debacle of the U-23 team? In any elite or respectable football nation a guy like this would be an assistant to continue to be molded CAUSE HE IS NOT READY. Pathetic he will fall flat in his face with this gig.
First DP coach?
Actually, I believe that attitude of arrogance and utter superiority is the albatross around the regions neck.
Ok, the previous coach failed, fine. But did the players have anything to do with the team only getting 24 points with the season pretty much over? Can a loss to a newly formed amature team in the US Open Cup be attributed solely to the coach? And while I am at it, Portland’s U23 team also lost to the same amature team.
Geez, James, I thought Portland was in MLS. They’re in some other league?
And- really interested in the Sigi/Rennie quotes stating Portland was an albatross for the region. Could you point us to them?
I love when people say that he did a terrible job with the US-U23’s. He actually led that team to a complete thrashing of the Olympic champions. Hertha Berlin refused to release Alfredo Morales, Josh Gatt was called back to Molde, Agudelo was injured and Bill Hamid was injured in the El Salvador game. Lets also not forget that Sean Johnson let in a blunder of a goal.
Seattle! Seattle. Seee-attle.
There got it out of the way for you.
yeeeah except the talent on that team was NOT minimal, that’s sort of the point of some of the criticisms.
sorry to wreck your pc but dont forget boobs there are some seriously attractive women in Portland.
he is only 37 perhaps dc was just too soon.
or just not really manager material which I believe he has said about himself in the past, at least with Portland/MLS. he’ll go back to GM Mo Johnston style for a while until the results just can’t justify not canning him.
Portland is a minor league team with a (literally) minor league manager. Now they hire an amateur coach. MLS is trying to improve on the international stage the last thing they need is a minor league team with an amateur coach as part of the league.
I could be wrong but didn’t Sigi and Martin Rennie intimate that the Pacific NW could be one of the greatest soccer regions in the world if it wasn’t for the Timbers acting like an albatross around the regions neck?
field I can see but there has to be a way to make that pitch bigger inside that stadium, that seems an option home-depot style rather than a limitation of the space? perhaps im imagining things but it seems that way. meaning if Caleb Porter wants a bigger field, I’m guessing that could happen for him.
Id say thats pretty important! He failed miserably at his first chance coaching professional athletes. Still think he has a lot of potential and could do well in portland.
Porter is a solid choice for the Timbers. College coaches have done pretty well in MLS. See Sigi Schmidt, Bruce Arena and that guy at FC Dallas. The only knock on Porter was the U-23 job, but the talent on that team was minimal at best.
The U-21 system in the USA is completely broken. The guys good enough to go over seas are sitting on benches and not getting competitive games. Don’t blame Porter because the talent sucks.
This meme is getting tired.
What makes Wilkinson a fraud? Under-achieving interim coach, yes. Fraud? I don’t see it.
That is it! take note: Fail to qualify the US for the Olympics, blame it on the kids — your thank you is an offer to become an MLS coach. And someone mentioned, he is too good for the job! What next?
Take Hamid and Johnson with you Porter!
Who cares about the olympic ‘debacle’? He had 3 games with overhyped young american soccer players that underestimated a decent Canadian team and Brek/Johnson made one final mistake to put the nail in the coffin. He will do fine in the MLS ranks and everything else he has done in coaching has been a raving success. I don’t hold the Olympic qualifying exit with too much esteem.
Porter is an over-rated HACK. College soccer is a joke.
Are you kidding me? Porter is so overrated its beyond hilarious. His Olympic team tied El Salvador and did not even qualify for the Olympics. He is actually perfect for the loser organization and that fraud Gavin Wilkinson.
The failures of the previous coaches is what opens up almost every job, except those when the coach retires after a long run off success. You have to look at the infrastructure in place, and things like “overwhelming fan support” are part of Portland’s infrastructure. 30 sell outs in 30 home games.
Did he interview for the position?
I think they meant that Portland didn’t wait for the off-season.
I think Bob Bradley would be a great fit for Portland if he’s ready to leave Egypt.
I am sure that the total attendance of a reserve match is pretty low on Porter’s list of considerations. He would be more concerned about the quality of the squad, the funds to bring additional players, how much ownership meddles into soccer affairs, etc. The reality is that the coaches are getting fired based on W/L record, not based on attendance, as the former Portland’s coach can attest to. No doubt, Portland has great fans and fantastic atmosphere at their home games, but Portland’s first team also lost to an AMATURE team that was assembled by Wynalda less than a month before the tournament. It is not very reassuring to potential job security.
great hire if they get him….be prepared for rookie coach learning curve. Took Hyndman almost a season to get MLS vs college.
Have you been to Portland? It’s awesome if you like food, beer, outdoors, clean air, not getting shot, beer, close proximity to mountains and beaches, and beer.
You mean Martin Rennie. There is a thing called internet where you can actually look up people’s names. That way you don’t have to guess the first name.
And yes Rennie has done a fairly good job, but Porter is a pretty good coach. To hold one debacle ove someone is ridiculous.
+1
Portland is a great city. Anyone who says otherwise is a trolling Seattle fan.
He did not do a good job working with young pro’s, the debacle of the Olympic Qualifying trials attest to that. What make Portland thing he would be any good with older pro’s too.
I think the Technical Director of Portland should get the axe. He fired the coach after a season and a hald and appointed himself and racked up even a worse record, telling the press he wanted to take his time and look for the “right” coach.
Well Porters isn’t it. There are more than a few coaches and asst coaches looking for work who have a lot of MLS experience. Look to the NASL, Michele Rennie was a find.
That might be a vote against Portland — must be a boring place is 14k showed up for that 🙂
Are you sure ownership support from that owner is good?
As long as the current GM is there, I say good luck.
Reference to stadium dimensions and Porter playing style pretty sure, maybe weather and playing style too (though that seems to be reaching)
yeah idiots fired coach 2 months ago for little reason and now offered coaching job to a guy but this with no professional coaching experience and almost non professional player experience.Nice done shmucks from Portland.
They might be the worst team in MLS, but Portland still drew 14k for a reserve game this weekend.
(Doubt DC drew that for their first team game I watched)
If he is looking for a MLS opportunity, it is a pretty nice one.
They aren’t wasting any time? Didn’t they fire their coach weeks ago?
i was thinking the same thing, as he is a huge asset for NCAA soccer, but he can use those same abilities to recruit and develop at the pro level too. Im not too sure why he would take this job over the DC job he turned down not too long ago, but maybe he is ready now.
I think he would absolutely have to consider taking this, ts a fantastic “market”, a team without an identity thats loaded with young talented players and committed owners willing to spend.
What would be the “better offer” out of curiosity? By MLS terms Portland is a great gig.
Portland has about all you’d look for in terms of an MLS job: ownership support, fan support & playing in a good market.
The only downside, as someone has mentioned above, is the turf and pitch size.
I hope he takes it, and develops Mwanga into a goal scoring threat.
Like what, LA or NY? It will be amusing to see all the butthurt from the people who are claiming that he won’t take the gig because it’s not good enough.
A columnist for The Oregonian is claiming that The Timbers consulted with Porter before trading Perkins for Ricketts. It’s a done deal. It will be interesting to see how much Portland is willing to pay.
His talents are better applied at the national level, then. The man was a disgusting recruiter: he didn’t turn no-talent players into the best teams in Div I, he got the best talent in the country to come to Akron and then coached them to grow together into phenomenal squads. The wider his reach, the better it is for our national program, and he’s arguably a bit limited at the collegiate level…
Plus, as a Terrapin, I want his recruiting prowess gone from the college game. 😛
From a “I get to live here?” perspective …it’s PORTLAND. I’d take it in a heart beat.
Too good for it? He only worked well in NCAA. He bombed at the youth international level, how the hell do we know if he can adapt to the MLS? I say it’s a good fit, only because he has to prove that he can operate somewhere other than thuggish backwards NCAA.
I’d like him to stay in the college game and build talent for the MLS and Europe.
How much better could it get? No, Portland isn’t a good team now. Still, you’ve got a rabid fanbase, committed owners who will spend money, and a good stadium setup. In MLS, teams go bottom to top all the time (san jose, vancouver)
i think he takes it…. its a way to start a=get acclimated to the leagues and its rules then he goes after the NYC2 team and he’ll get it
Keeping in mind that we don’t know the details of the offer, I assume the main knock against Portland as a destination for Porter is the field size.
But what would constitute “a much better MLS offer” to you?
There’s no way he takes the Portland job. He’s too good for it. He will stay in the college ranks until he gets a much better MLS offer.