The Chicago Fire have added a new striker to the club, but Mike Magee need not worry about his spot in the starting lineup.
US international and former Fire striker Brian McBride has joined the Men in Red as a part-time coach. He was on the training pitch Thursday for the first time working with the first team.
“I’m helping out in whatever capacity I can,” McBride told reporters after Thursday's training session. “It’s very little but just a way for me to get back involved with the Fire but more importantly to help out. It’s going to be all about the staff and the guys and where I fit in, I’ll fit in.”
Since retiring from the Fire in 2010, McBride has served as an analyst for Fox Sports 1’s UEFA Champions League and Europa League coverage, a role he’ll maintain. But he said the summer’s lighter broadcast schedule will allow him to focus on coaching.
“I’ve been in contact with Brian for four months,” Fire head coach Frank Yallop told reporters. “We have a relationship away from the club, so we’ve been chatting. [Fire owner Andrew Hauptman] put us together and when he had spare time in his schedule I said, ‘Why don’t you come out and see if you like the coaching side of things? See if you want to be involved more down the road?’”
McBride said his role with the team will be a “modest one,” working mainly with Chicago’s forwards. He said he wouldn’t be on the touchline during games.
“The fact that I know Frank from playing against him, playing against him when he’s coaching and then of course, playing with [assistant coaches C.J. Brown] and Clint [Mathis], it seems like an easy fit. The staff is a fun staff, but also a good one where I can learn some things as I go along.”
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McBride has also run striker’s camps in the Chicago area since his retirement.
“It’s good to have him out here with his boots on,” Yallop said. “He’s a Chicago guy, and I think you can’t have enough quality people around any club. He’s a quality individual and a very good player. He has something to offer, and I think we’d be foolish if we didn’t want to have Brian involved with us right now.”
