The no-vacancy light has been shut off. Let the coaching search in Houston begin.
The Houston Dynamo grabbed plenty of attention on Wednesday night by announcing that they had parted ways with head coach Owen Coyle, whose desire to be closer to his family in England was cited as the primary reason for the split.
Regardless of whether that is truly the case or whether the Dynamo’s brass decided to go in another direction after seeing the club put together a paltry 3-7-2 record this season, a new manager must be appointed in the not-too-distant future. Whoever takes the job and becomes the third head coach in Dynamo history will not only be tasked with helping revive the team in the competitive Western Conference, but also bring it back into MLS’s upper echelon.
The Dynamo were competing for MLS Cups as recently as four years ago, but have slipped mightily since then. Long-time coach Dominic Kinnear departed to join the San Jose Earthquakes in late 2014, and Coyle struggled to ever find his footing in his season-and-some-change to become the latest cautionary tale in terms of foreign coaches in MLS.
The Dynamo know they have a big decision to make, and are surely going to take their time on it. The good news for them is that there are plenty of candidates with a range of experience available, even at this early juncture in the season.
Here is a look at some of the coaches that the Dynamo could consider for their vacant coaching position:
JASON KREIS
The first name that immediately popped into the minds of many observers following Wednesday’s announcement was Jason Kreis. The former head coach of Real Salt Lake and New York City FC, Kreis knows MLS probably just as well as anyone available and is held in high regard around the league. Questions persist, however, as to whether his recent failure with NYCFC showed his limitations or was just a one-time blemish.
WILMER CABRERA
The current coach of the Dynamo’s USL affiliate, Wilmer Cabrera has a familiarity with the MLS outfit that could benefit him. Cabrera also has some head-coaching experience after leading Chivas USA during the 2014 season, and knows MLS plenty after previously spending time as an assistant with the Colorado Rapids. He would certainly be a change from Coyle, but might not have enough of a proven resume at the pro level given that he led youth U.S. Men’s National Teams for much of his coaching career.
MIKE PETKE
If the Dynamo are looking for a coach who has had success in MLS and is young enough to help cultivate, Mike Petke might be their guy. Petke enjoyed success in his two seasons as a head coach of the New York Red Bulls despite being thrust into the position with short notice, and his dismissal was largely seen as unwarranted. Petke might not be the most tactically-savvy option available, but the Dynamo could do worse than having a fiery coach that players can get behind and fight for.
ROBIN FRASER
One of the more highly-touted assistant coaches in MLS, Robin Fraser is another candidate with a wealth of experience in the league. Fraser served as Petke’s right-hand man at the Red Bulls during the 2013 and 2014 seasons, and has since been at Toronto FC as Greg Vanney’s assistant. Fraser was also second-in-command under Kreis during part of Real Salt Lake’s best seasons. That said, his lone head-coaching stint with Chivas USA finished with an ugly 15-32-21 record after two years.
GIOVANNI SAVARESE
A coach previously linked with the Dynamo job, Giovanni Savarese has helped the New York Cosmos claim a good bit of hardware since he started his coaching career and a jump up to MLS could be the next move for him if he wants a bigger challenge. Saverese is no stranger to the league after suiting up for the New York/New Jersey MetroStars, New England Revolution, and San Jose Earthquakes during his playing days, but it is unclear how astute of a manager he might be in a league where there’s a salary cap and much more parity.
TAB RAMOS
Tab Ramos has never coached in MLS, but his name has made the rounds in recent years when positions in the league have opened up. Ramos has most recently been an assistant with the U.S. Men’s National Team and the leader of the Under-20 side, helping the 2015 group of prospects reach the quarterfinals of last year’s World Cup before losing to eventual champion Serbia. Ramos likes his teams to play a proactive style and knows MLS after spending several years in the league as a player. Still, his lack of experience might be too much to look past.
Depending on how the year plays out for the Sounders, Sigi Schmid might be free at the end of the year.
While not my top pick Wade Barrett should get more respect as a possible choice. He knows how the front office operates, and has passion for the organization. Could improve the team much like Ben Olsen and Petke did.
Where’s John Spencer?
WHERE’S PREKI?
Agree with many. Kreis is the easy-low-risk choice. NYCFC was a blip on his resume…and there was soooo much going on there that outsiders could see that what happened was not (all) his fault. Didn’t want Pirlo. Wonder if he wanted Mix. I think he could do wonders for Dynamo.
Kreis should be at the top of everyone’s list for a replacement. He built a solid team with NYCFC out of nothing and they were showing results during the second half of the season. Then he was forced to incorporate Lampard and Pirlo into the starting lineup. He made a point in the game at Dallas when he subbed them off and the young players came back from two goals down. His motto that the team is the star was never going to fly with the players and brass at NYCFC and their owners. I would like to see him as a candidate for the USMNT coach, personally.
+1
Ideally it would be more like Bob Bradley but I understand he has a deal through the end of the coming season with Le Havre. But they didn’t get promoted, which might have been the concept. But he also is ambitious, so back to MLS might not be in the cards. But he would know MLS, won a title here, and even made Chivas a playoff team, which feels like a miracle now, and is the sort of miracle we need. System coach too, demanding of players, engaged with job seriously.
Kreis won an MLS Cup, was a runner up in another, routine playoffs, like Kinnear used to be here. Demanding of players, takes job seriously. RSL was a budget team so we could get past the mopey excuse locally — which didn’t stop us from getting two trophies back in the day — that budget teams can’t beat LA and win.
Petke also did fairly well with NYRB, but that was a loaded team that some would argue underperformed relative to talent.
Fraser was awful at Chivas.
I actually think Savarese has accomplished little for the relative resources he has at his level of play. With the money Cosmos is willing to spend — economic sense or not — how don’t you regularly win their hardware? He has one league title.
Ramos head experience is as a youth coach. Cabrera’s head experience is again, youth coaching, plus an awful year at Chivas where he was basically its undertaker (he did extract performance from Torres, but this team needs to be thinking long term big picture and getting someone with a good chance to fix us, and his one head job the team was horrible). Ralston and Barrett are assistants without head experience. If this team picks a youth coach or assistant then I don’t know if we care much if we ever win. It would mean cost is the primary driver. Cheap players plus cheap coach = who cares.
Cabrera, I also understood we were going to try and develop within like Dallas does, and if you replace the RGV head after 2 months, that doesn’t sound like we’re taking that very seriously on multiple levels. And getting RGV going is one of the cheaper ways of starting to fix this good thing gone bad.
At least one concern I have here is whether we are somehow radioactive from the front office here. Kinnear quit. If I believe this, Coyle quit. One reason I always thought Coyle was hired was maybe Kinnear’s stink on the way out was a message to avoid here that was heeded. Coyle being from out of MLS and eager for employment might not have been listening.
I am also concerned whether we are broke if we promote from within. That would be the cheap response and save money. With a bad team and no playoffs in two years, if you just elevate the minor league coach or the assistants I half wonder whether that tells you that penny pinching is really the whole problem.
If you are looking at a long term coaching solution, someone you could bring in now and have a plan to build from the ground up over a few years time, I think Jason Kreis is the man. He did a great job at RSL and an OK one at NYCFC before politics intervened.
If you are looking for a longer term “caretaker” for the rest of the season while you quietly and thoroughly seek the person for that position, them Wiiiilbuurr is your man. He did a great job with Torres at an awful Chivas team, so he’ll feel right at home in Houston (/joke/)
But I think there are some more foundational problems. It was sadi frequently that Coyle wanted to shop Torres and find a forward that fit a different style of play, but was forbidden by the Houston Front office. There was also the position of a third DP that was vetoed when Coyle had his list of candidates.Then of course you have Beasley, one of only three or four defenders earning DP pay in the league for good or ill.At the top end you have a very inefficient DP positions
it is also not clear that the fairly new ownership had any desire to open the purse strings under Coyle or even the interim and/or next coach.
I think one of the biggest mistakes that front offices, especially those staffed by people new at the position, is to hire a coaching staff and then get nervous or back off in providing the necessary funding and support to build on a vision. Most prefer evolution rather than revolution. I sense this may be the case with Houston
Just to clarify Savarase has won 2 NASL titles out of 3 years among other bits of hardware and he turned down the Dynamo to stay with the Cosmos… That’s how Coyle got the job in the first place.
Savarese only won one soccer bowl, ie, league title, the other was a half season championship which I think is kind of so what. There have been six of those and he has won two. With what is at his hands relative to the league I think that is rather underwhelming performance. Like Petke not winning MLS with Henry et al.
Just to clarify, Savarase has won 2 NASL titles in 3 years as well as other bits of hardware…. And he was offered the job in Houston before Coyle and turned it down to stay with the Cosmos
always wondered why Wilmer has not been given another MLS job.. any other USL coaches being considered? Trittschuh or Onalfo?