SAN JOSE, Calif. – Following the firing of coach Mikael Stahre on Monday and the soul searching on Earthquakes Way that followed, the San Jose Earthquakes have little choice but to move forward quickly with Supporters' Shield leaders Atlanta United coming to Avaya Stadium on Wednesday night (11 pm ET | UniMás, Twitter - full TV & streaming info).
Former US national team star and longtime Quakes assistant Steve Ralston will take the reins of the club for the final six games of the season. With 379 career MLS caps to his name and eight seasons as an assistant in the league, the 44-year-old Ralston offers the Quakes a sense of continuity amid the uncertainty of how the club will move forward in 2019.
“It means a lot to me,” said Ralston. “What happens from this I don’t know, I’ve got six games to try and turn some things around. Sometimes this will unite and bring the group together, and I’m just happy that the club trusts me to do this, and I’ll do the best that I can.”
Now tasked with making his second hire in as many offseasons, Earthquakes GM Jesse Fioranelli knows the pressure is squarely on his shoulders to get the right coach for the direction he wants to take the club.
“I have learned in the last three to four months that MLS is just as unforgiving as Serie A,” said Fioranelli. “I want to make sure that the people I work with and I hold ourselves accountable for the benchmarks we set. Maybe over the last six months we let it slip, and I’m not going to let it happen again next year.”
Added Quakes president Tom Fox: “We are doing our due diligence in trying to give us enough time and space to think about what we do going forward.”
The rumor mill is already churning out names of potential replacements for Stahre, with former Portland Timbers coach Caleb Porter and Columbus Crew SC legend and current Boca Juniors manager Guillermo Barros Schelotto having been linked to the position. Ralston figures to be in the mix for the job on a permanent basis as well, though the Earthquakes insist they won’t rush into making a hire until they get the right guy.
“I don’t want to create speculation about what we will be doing in the next three months,” said Fioranelli. “When we realized that we wanted to take this decision, we said ‘let’s take the time to take good decisions heading to 2019 giving ourselves options.”
