E. RUTHERFORD, N.J. - For many in the New York Red Bulls locker room, Mo Johnston's dismissal wasn't their first coaching change. But the mood there Tuesday afternoon was far different than it was last October when Bob Bradley was fired by then-president and general manager Alexi Lalas.
Perhaps it was the Brazil-Ghana match on the plasma televisions inside the players' lounge and training room but there were no sullen faces. Many on the team weren't surprised that Johnston was gone, replaced by Richie Williams on an interim basis.
"According to what we've heard today, they've been interviewing coaches so Mo was never really in," Tony Meola said. "That was the consensus everyone got. It was either now or some other time and they chose now to make a decision.
"We kind of felt it before; he never really knew if he was going to be here or not," he added.
In fact Johnston, who didn't address the team Tuesday, thought he was a goner in April when a proposed trade - one that would later go through for Jean Philippe Peguero - was nixed by Red Bull. At the time he met his players and told them he believed he had coached his last day.
But in a stunning turnaround, he retained his job and was given a vote of confidence by Red Bull New York managing director Marc de Grandpre, the same man who released him late Monday night.
"Obviously there were a lot of questions in terms of what his future was going to be when Red Bull bought the team," defender Steve Jolley said. "Some people might have viewed this as inevitable but I feel bad for a guy who just lost his job."
It is the second year in a row Mark Lisi has had to deal with a coach being fired and an assistant being named interim head coach. The veteran midfielder hopes the season-long distractions, from the Austrian energy drink's purchase of the organization to rumors of Brazilian superstar Ronaldo joining the team and Johnston's demise in April, will soon come to a stop.
"We keep changing things and keep changing things and they wonder why we haven't won anything around here," Lisi said. "It's tough to win with a new group, new coaches, new GM, new everything. You need to take some time to jell and hopefully they find someone who will be here long term."
While there wasn't the shock or sadness of a year earlier, there was a sense of responsibility from Red Bulls players who have underachieved this year. Through 12 games, the Red Bulls are 2-3-7 and sit in last place in the Eastern Conference.
"Every time a coach gets fired, for me personally it's like a slap in the face because if we were on top of the league right now, he's not getting fired," Meola said. "Or there's less of a chance he's getting fired."
And now the Red Bulls need to pick up and play Columbus on Wednesday night, 24 hours after a major upheaval.
"Every time this has happened," Jolley said, "and this has happened far too many times for me - this is probably my seventh or eighth coach, I think I've lost count - the only good thing that comes for it is that people start working for their jobs again."
Dylan Butler is a contributor to MLSnet.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Soccer or its clubs.
