ORLANDO, Fla.- No, there isn’t anyone directly in waiting, but yes, Orlando City SC has a very firm idea of who its next head coach will be. And the hunt is most certainly on to hire someone sooner rather than later.
Conversely, the team will not rush into a decision, and it will have to be a coach who fits the existing vision for the club’s ambition and preferred style of play.
All that became clear in a detailed conversation with City president and founding owner Phil Rawlins in the wake of the surprise departure of Adrian Heath this week, a decision that has severely rocked the Lions’ fanbase at the start of their busiest month of the season.
But, not for the first time, Rawlins insisted the process was one of evolution and not revolution. “This is about a positive time of change and an opportunity for us to grow,” he said. “My goal was always to build a club with an infrastructure where the coach is an important piece but not critical to that framework. The idea is that if you do lose a coach, you can replace them without changing the strategy and direction of the organization.”
As regards the new man, the job specification is already clearly defined, and will not deviate markedly from the pattern established under Heath.
“We are not going to change our playing style and philosophy,” Rawlins added. “We will continue to look to get the ball down and play a possession-oriented game well, with an exciting, creative brand of soccer that creates a lot of chances.”
The clear inference is that long-ball strategists and defensive-minded coaches need not apply. In fact, Rawlins can make it even simpler in reference terms, with a two-point template that sets out the coaching manifesto for the foreseeable future.
“Point One, they have to fit within the existing vision and playing philosophy of the club,” he explained. “And Point Two, they have to have a track record of success to help us achieve the next level. The next step for us is to win an MLS championship and to get into the CONCACAF Champions League.
“Therefore we have a very clear idea of the kind of person we want to bring in and a short-list of who we want to talk to, but there is no-one sat around the corner in waiting.”
The team’s main ambitions remain to achieve the kind of success they enjoyed in their USL days, when they won two titles and three Commissioner’s Cups in the space of four years. And, while Rawlins is realistic enough to admit no one in MLS dominates to that extent, he insists that is no reason not to aim high.
Equally, there is no imperative to match the current high-flying achievements of fellow expansion team New York City FC, who are now sitting atop the Eastern Conference.
“It isn’t right to measure yourself against another organization, every one club in MLS is unique,” Rawlins insisted. “We still have half a season to go and we could still finish two points above or two points below any given team. But that’s largely irrelevant. We are looking to our own goals first and foremost, and that remains reaching the playoffs for the first time.”
Rawlins was quick to point to the use of established metrics in rationalizing the decision to part company with Heath, including a close examination of points-per-game and tracking the “heart, effort and desire” of players over the course of a number of games. Deciding on the new head coach is not quite so easy to analyze, though.
“It is not a scientific decision,” Rawlins admitted. “It is art and science coming together. But, at the end of the day, the board has to come to a consensus on a new coach. It is a process of interviews, discussion and then agreement.”
As the dust slowly settles on the midweek upheaval that saw the founding owner lose the only head coach he has had in his eight-year journey from Austin to Orlando, there was no looking back at events. But there was a moment of regret.
In the open letter penned by Rawlins in praise of Heath and his achievements with both the Aztex and City, Rawlins referred to Heath’s “tremendous track record in the Minor Leagues,” which served to rile up some of the fanbase who were already upset at losing a feisty coach who wore his heart on his sleeve in much the same way the fans did themselves.
But Rawlins was at pains to explain there was absolutely no slight intended. “Yes, those were all my own words,” he said. “But when you look back at something you have written and re-written maybe three, four times before you publish it, there are always a few words you might have changed. In hindsight, it would probably have been better to say ‘USL.’ All I was trying to do was highlight his great track record with us on our rise to MLS status.
“There is no question Adrian has done a great job for this club, and I will always be the first one to point that out.”
