A report from ESPN's Jeff Carlisle on Wednesday alleges former US men's national team head coach and five-time MLS Cup winner Bruce Arena is a candidate for Columbus Crew SC's vacant general manager position.
According to Carlisle, Arena is in contention only for the GM role, not as a coach, with Crew SC assistant coach Josh Wolff and former Portland Timbers coach Caleb Porter reportedly among the candidates for the coach's role.
Arena, 67, has been out of work since leaving the USMNT post last year after that team failed to qualify for the 2018 World Cup. But in recent months, he has expressed interest in working in MLS again.
Arena's resume is among the best in MLS. As a head coach, he's won two MLS Cups, a U.S. Open Cup, the Concacaf Champions Cup and Copa Interamericana with D.C. United, plus three MLS Cups and two Supporters' Shields with the LA Galaxy. He has also coached the New York Red Bulls, and led the USMNT to a quarterfinal appearance at the 2002 World Cup.
Columbus are looking for a new coach and GM after Gregg Berhalter departed those positions to take over as new US national team head coach this week. A Crew SC spokesperson told MLSsoccer.com on the report, "The club has begun its search for new soccer operations leadership in collaboration with potential new Investor-Operators," reflecting the expected sale of the team to a new ownership group.
