Replacing John Ellinger as coach of Real Salt Lake was no easy decision for owner Dave Checketts.
Trust me.
Checketts had every intention of sticking it out as long as he could with the affable Ellinger, and rightfully so. Checketts loves the guy personally, and even more so loves that Ellinger had the classy persona that every owner dreams of in a front man, especially when starting a franchise from scratch.
When you are building an MLS club from the beginning, you need someone who can talk to everyone, from the uninformed soccer mom to the best-read soccer dork (like me), and make them feel like they are part of a new and exciting family.
You need a class act, a tireless worker and most of all, a good guy, to help build that family from nothing. I know because in Colorado's early years they had it in the late Glenn "Mooch" Myernick. And fortunately for RSL, that's exactly what they had from the start in Ellinger.
For the last two and a half years, Ellinger did everything the club asked of him and more. And he did it with a smile on his face, and often a sly little joke on the side.
Ask a Real staffer: the guy never turned down a single request - whether it was countless media interviews, community appearances or just hanging around to talk with fans after games or practices.
Utah's religious aspects aside, RSL needed someone to preach soccer, and Ellinger was that guy.
And fortunately for the club, he still is.
Luckily for RSL, John Ellinger is not going anywhere. He is sticking around to finish what he started, building RSL into a winner in his new role as technical director. That's a testament to the loyalty of both he and Checketts.
In fact, Ellinger will still be there for a school appearance Friday with Chris Klein and Carey Talley. Never mind the guy just got sacked the other day. Nice.
But as we all know in sports, sometimes nice guys finish last and unfortunately for Ellinger, Checketts and RSL - that kept happening. The 0-2-2 start this season and the brutal ways in which the team was losing was enough to warrant the move.
At the end of the day, something had to change. While the addition of young Mr. Adu was a nice shot in the arm, Checketts needs a winner - especially as he fights to get a new stadium done. Plus, the RSL fan base deserves it.
And I for one love the replacement and keeping it in the family in the form of MLS all-time leading sniper Jason Kreis.
But I have to be honest, with every player that gets a coaching gig, I just feel older and older, huh? Am I going to have to start going to the bathroom like 17 times every night pretty soon?
Anyway, if Kreis brings the same diligence and honesty to coaching that he did as a player, RSL is in good hands going forward.
As a player, Jason was never afraid to do the dirty work, and as we saw in his time at RSL, would play anywhere on the field to help the ball club.
And while he has a new gig, let's not forget to take a beat and fete the absolutely wonderful career the guy had as a player. All he did was score goals, and I have always loved the analogy of Kreis as the U.S. version of former Arsenal (and Crystal Palace) star Ian Wright.
Wright was a marvelous goal scorer for his clubs and brought color to the game, but never found success at the national team level. And that took absolutely nothing away from Wright's legacy as an absolutely lethal finisher.
And much as Wright has gone on to do as a television personality across the pond, I fully expect Kreis to find success in his new career.
But apparently judging by the comments at his press conference the other day, Kreis goes into the job with a little chip on his shoulder. One, I'd say, about the size of Rosie O'Donnell's ... um ... ego.
How's this for a line from Kreis: "If you don't believe in me or in this decision, then get in line, because I am sure there are going to be a lot of you, and I will in the end, thank you for that, because that is exactly what I need, a lot of people to prove wrong."
OK, then.
But Kreis obviously has some work to do. The initial moves may be cosmetic, such as dropping RSL's 4-5-1.
But the first real order of business for he and Ellinger in their new roles is ... replacing Jason Kreis. The move will leave a couple hundred grand in salary cap space to do so, but it will be interesting to see what kind of void Kreis leaves on the field on an already struggling side.
So when Real hosts the suddenly-imposing Red Bulls this weekend, this team will have a decidedly different look.
But actually, not at all.
There will be a new man roving the sidelines and Kreis' days of post-goal flips are over, but you'll still see Jason living and dying with every result and my guess is Ellinger will still be chatting with the fans.
Sounds like a good way to keep building a new family.
During the season, The Clean Sheet runs each week on MLSnet. Views and opinions expressed in this column views and opinions are the author's, and not necessarily those of Major League Soccer or MLSnet.com. Send any questions and comments to tcsresponses@yahoo.com
