Orlando City don’t have a set timeline to find a new head coach, but the club do have a list of three or four candidates they’re considering to replace Adrian Heath on a full-time basis.
Orlando’s Brazilian owner Flavio Augusto and English president Phil Rawlins could easily conduct a global search for their head coaching job, but they seem to be set on making a relatively local hire. In addition to mandating the new boss fits in with the club’s attacking philosophy, Rawlins said last week that he wants someone with experience coaching in North America and a working knowledge of the league.
There’s been speculation about a couple of names that fit those criterion, with several outlets naming former Real Salt Lake and New York City FC coach Jason Kreis, New York Cosmos manager and oft-rumored MLS candidate Giovanni Savarese, Swope Park Rangers head coach Marc dos Santos and current interim Orlando coaches Bobby Murphy and Anthony Pulis as potential fits.
Of course, those are far from the only names that would make sense in Orlando. Plenty of current MLS assistants would fit the bill, as well. Here are three that could work in Orlando – or elsewhere – and expand the MLS coaching tree in the not-too-distant future.
Robin Fraser
Fraser’s two-year stint as Chivas USA’s manager wasn’t exactly much to write home about (he was 15-32-21 before being dismissed after the 2012 season), but I’m not holding that against him.
Instead, I think it’s a bit more instructive to look at the former MLS Defender of the Year’s excellent track record as an assistant coach. He was a part of some of the best teams in club history in each of his stops as an assistant, helping turn Real Salt Lake into an MLS Cup champion and perennial power from 2007-2010, serving as Mike Petke’s lead assistant as the New York Red Bulls won their first-ever trophy in 2013 and helping Greg Vanney lead Toronto FC to their first playoff berth in 2015.
He’s been a part of MLS since the inaugural season in 1996, is widely respected around the league and knows its ins and outs as well as anyone. His nearly two decades of experience as a defender could help Orlando patch up their backline, and his time working with vibrant attacks at RSL, RBNY and TFC should mitigate any concerns about his attacking credentials. There’s a reason Fraser’s name often pops up with MLS vacancies – Orlando could do a lot worse than bringing in the Miami native.
Kerry Zavagnin
Zavagnin isn’t technically a "one-club man," but he might as well be. The longtime Kansas City midfielder joined the club’s staff immediately after retiring following the 2008 season, and has been on the bench ever since.
Like Fraser, he knows the ins and outs of the league as well as anyone and, like Fraser, he’s had plenty of success as an assistant. In addition to being a player on the Wizards team that won MLS Cup 2000 and the 2004 Open Cup, the former US international was an assistant for the Sporting teams that won MLS Cup in 2013 and the Open Cup in 2012and 2015.
Zavagnin could bring elements – or the entirety – of Sporting’s active 4-3-3 to Orlando, a model that would not only fit with the club’s attacking mandate, but could add some strength to the backline, too. He’s also spent seven years learning at the feet of Vermes, widely regarded as one of the best managers in all of MLS.
Steve Ralston
I’m not so sure Ralston makes as much sense for Orlando as Fraser or Zavagnin, but he’s been a candidate for head coaching gigs in the past (he interviewed for the Houston job following the 2014 season) and will continue to be a name mentioned with most vacancies in the future.
A wildly accomplished player, Ralston has assisted Dom Kinnear since retiring as a player, spending four years with him in Houston before moving to San Jose prior to the start of the 2015 season. Kinnear is one of the most successful coaches in MLS history, but Ralston’s ties to him might be a negative for the Orlando job.
Kinnear’s teams have never been known as the most attacking-minded, and Ralston’s association with those groups could push the possession-oriented Orlando brass in a different direction.
