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Report: Caleb Porter nearing deal to become Crew head coach

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Former Portland Timbers coach Caleb Porter looked set to remain in the Western Conference of Major League Soccer. However, Porter looks to be nearing a deal to move out East after new negotiations.

Porter is reportedly in the final stages to become the next head coach of the Columbus Crew, the Athletic reported on Thursday. The contract between the two parties is expected to be completed in the next day or two, according to the report.

Porter had been in discussions with the Los Angeles Galaxy after being spotted courtside with Galaxy president Chris Klein and team owners on Monday night. However, those discussions never led to a completed deal which has seen the Crew make a final push to acquire Porter’s services.

The 43-year-old has prior experience in Ohio, leading the Akron Zips to a National Championship back in 2010. He also was the head coach of the U.S. U-23 Men’s National Team between 2011-12 before taking charge of the Timbers from 2013-17. Porter lifted an MLS Cup with the Timbers over the Crew in 2015,

Columbus is currently in a transitional change with former head coach Gregg Berhalter moving onto the USMNT. Porter had previously been linked with the Crew, as well as Columbus assistant Josh Wolff.

Comments

  1. You have to wonder why LA didn’t work out? I’m sure he met with the whole chain of command from key players right up to ownership. Assessing what was available and what he wanted to change. There had to be a sticking point or multiple issues. Whether it was imposing certain coaching staff or lack of deciding his roster.
    Everyone thinks LA would be a great job with a lot resources available but no successful coach wants to be told what to do and how to do it. A certain part of LA’s economy of scale and value is built around other revenue generators such as jersey sales and local tv without the product on the field being all that great. Porter is all about building his team and winning The Western Conference is pleased he went East!

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    • It interests me that the turnaround roughly parallels te Kloese being hired as GM. I know people pushed that Klein and Porter are friends, but te Kloese would now be his soccer boss. Maybe he wanted personnel control, or maybe he doesn’t like the GM choice.

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