The Portland Timbers are in the market for a new head coach.
In a surprise move first reported on Thursday night by FourFourTwo's Paul Tenorio, Caleb Porter and the Timbers are parting ways after five seasons at the helm. The club had signed him to a long-term contract extension in January 2016 in the wake of their first MLS Cup title.
Tenorio's report made it clear that Porter wasn't fired and The Oregonian reports that he stepped down.
The 42-year-old Porter, who won the MLS Coach of the Year award in his 2013 debut season, led the Timbers to one MLS Cup title (2015), three playoff appearances (2013, 2015, 2017) and two first-place finishes in the Western Conference (2013, 2017), while compiling a 68W-50L-52D record in regular season play.
Portland entered the 2017 postseason as the No. 1 seed in the West, but they suffered elimination at the hands of the Houston Dynamo following a 2-1 home loss in the second leg of a Western Conference Semifinal series that saw the Timbers endure multiple injuries to starters.
The Timbers are the seventh MLS club that will see a head coaching change in 2017, an all-time single-season high in MLS. Only the Colorado Rapids have yet to fill their vacancy with the Montreal Impact (Remi Garde) and the New England Revolution (Brad Friedel) announcing the league's most recent coaching hires last week.
