FC Dallas interviews SMU's Hyndman for coaching job

What would a FC Dallas search for a new coach be without Schellas Hyndman? Hyndman has coached SMU's men's soccer team since 1984 and is highly respected in the Dallas area as well as college soccer, thus the reason FCD always look his way when the top job is vacant.

He was previously linked to club after the Jeffries dismissal (2003) and the Clarke toss (2006), so is the third time the charm?

In his 24 years at SMU, the team has never had a losing season and are constantly one of the better college sides, however they have never won or even played for a national championship. Hyndman would bring with him a good knowledge of the up and coming college players as well as a divine love of the 4-4-2 formation, but is that enough for MLS?

With the league's hirer profile and bigger names, I'm not sure giving the controls to someone without professional level management experience is the best idea (for a explanation of this, look no further then Steve Morrow).

The next manager of FCD needs to be someone that can come in and command respect from the players, but I'm not sure Hyndman, for all his positives, is the person who can do that.

By the way, former FCD manager and current Puerto Rican national team coach Colin Clarke saw his side fall 4-0 to Honduras last night in World Cup Qualifying. The second leg will take place on the 14th in Puerto Rico.

After 5-1 defeat to LA, FC Dallas fire Morrow

Less then 48-hours after one of the worst results in club history, FC Dallas have sacked head coach Steve Morrow. Morrow took over Dallas after the team fired Colin Clarke in 2006. His MLS record stands at 15-17-8.

Assistant coach Marco Feruzzi will take over till a perminant replacement is found.

Although Dallas got off to a decent start during the first couple weeks of their 2008 campaign, they have only managed 1 point from their last four matches. Combine that with the bad taste from 2007 (including the Denilson debacle, even though that was more of managements design) and you have all the reasons Morrow is looking for a new job.

During his year and a half in change, Morrow never really figured out the FC Dallas back line problem. Also, even though he showed some strength in benching Ruiz for parts of last season, he never seemed to be in control of the club.

As far as replacements, SMU coach Schellas Hyndman will be in the mix, like he always is whenever Dallas looks for a new manager, but he probably will not bit yet again. That should open things up. My guess is it will be someone with limited to little head coaching history.

As far as Morrow, maybe he can still get the job at Walsall.

English club interested in FC Dallas manager Steve Morrow

"According to England's Daily Star, Ex-Arsenal midfielder (and current FC Dallas manager) Steve Morrow is a contender to be Walsall boss."

Walsall resides in the English League One (which is the third tier of English football) and recently finished mid-table, 12-points out of the playoffs for promotion. The team's most recent manager, Richard Money, resigned his post after failing to reach the promotion playoffs, thus an opening became available.

Looking past the obvious questions about the source (tabloids have been known to be wrong before), what to make out of this? Would Steve Morrow leave FC Dallas, a team that seems to be just on the edge of becoming something really good, for a chance to lead a third division side in England? Does his contract even have a clause that would allow him to make such a move?

My guess is Morrow would pass on this offer. Morrow has done some quality work scouting and training his FC Dallas team and I don't think he would want to leave before any of the it really paid off. Although a chance to manage in England is probably tempting, I don't think this offer is enough to pull a second year coach away.

Firing season is here, which MLS coaches are the hunted?

The regular season might be over but the firing season has just begun. So which coaches are safe and who has a target on their back? Let’s take a look and see.

First, those who are safe:

Tom Soehn (DC United since 2007) - Had some trouble early but regrouped the team and made them into a force. A late season let down is disappointing but nothing close to deserving a pink slip.

Preki (Chivas USA since 2007) - With all the issues Amado Guevara caused early, it would have been easy for this team to fall apart, but Preki made them into true title contenders.

Dominic Kinnear (Houston Dynamo since 2006) - Another wonderful year from Kinnear. He has dealt with injuries well and has built a good bench. The only way he leaves is if he decided to leave for San Jose.

Bruce Arena (New York Red Bulls since mid-2006) - Unless he is pushing to get the US Women's job, the Bruce is staying in New York. The pickup of Ángel and Mathis now looks genius and the development of Altidore is great. Even a bomb against New England wouldn't result in his dismissal.

Curt Onalfo (Kansas City Wizards since 2007) - If KC was a bit more established and not looking at so many off the pitch issues (stadium, attendance, publicity, etc), the late season crash would have moved Onalfo into the maybe, but not likely list. However, with things the way they are and a playoff berth in hand, he is here for another year, which is good because I think he will develop some serious talent over the next few seasons.

Mo Johnston (Toronto FC since 2007) - Yes, his team had no able to score goals but they played some of the most passionate soccer in the whole league. Had it not been for injuries, they might have snuck into the playoffs. For a first year club, Mo put together something impressive, now can he make it grow?

Juan Carlos Osorio (Chicago Fire since mid-2007) - He hasn't been around long enough to fire plus he has handled Blanco well and the team improved after his hire.

Jason Kreis (Real Salt Lake since mid-2007) - Much like Osorio, he hasn't been around enough to get tossed plus Real showed some great improvement under his leadership.


So those are the guys that seem to be completely safe, but what about the other five bosses? Most of them will stay but one or maybe are probably done. Here is the way I see the other five:

Fernando Clavijo (Colorado Rapids since 2005)
Reasons he will be fired: The Rapids played some of the most boring and uninspiring soccer in the whole league. They constantly underperformed and for the first time since 2001, failed to reach post season. Clavijo hasn't shown much in the way of player development. They will humiliated 5-0 by Seattle in the US Open Cup quarterfinals. With the new stadium, this team needs some excitement on the pitch to keep people coming back.

Reasons he will stay: Um, let's see, the past two coaches all got four seasons so Clavijo should get one more. And maybe the Rapids don't want to spend the money to bring in anyone else and change the system.

Prediction: If Clavijo is still the coach next season, it is proof that the Rapids organization doesn't care about the game.

Sigi Schmid (Columbus Crew since 2006)
Reasons he will be fired: For the fourth season in a row the Crew have missed the playoffs and ended up in sixth place in the East. Through out the season, the team suffered from a lack of control late in matches. They picked up pace with the introduction of Schelotto, but Sigi couldn't make it last.

Reasons he will stay: The Crew did show progress over last season and with a couple moves, could be a playoff team in 2008. Also, the Hunts who are much more focused on FC Dallas own the Crew.

Prediction: Schmid should be gone but he'll probably get a reprieve.

Frank Yallop (LA Galaxy since mid-2006)
Reasons he will be fired: Two seasons in a row without making the playoffs. Due to trades this year, the team is in a tight spot when it comes to the designated player rule next year. Hard to be a 'Super Club' when you have a losing record. Lalas needs to blame someone.

Reasons he will stay: The late season run showed what the team can do. Had a number of injury woes plus the schedule was against him. Has a better understanding of how to handle the team (and the press).

Prediction: Unless Lalas can land someone big (hello Klinsmann), Yallop will stay. That is unless he decides to head up the coast to San Jose instead.

Steve Morrow (FC Dallas since 2007)
Reasons he will be fired: The team has underperformed this year. They had a chance to win the US Open Cup but failed even with home pitch advantage. The Denilson acquisition has been a flop.

Reason he will stay: The Hunts want a winner but even they understand that a coach needs more then one season to make everything come together.

Prediction: Morrow will stay but if 2008 doesn't start strong, he will be gone by July.

Steve Nicol (New England since 2002)
Reason he will be fired: Can't get the team over the final hurdle to win a MLS Cup.

Reasons he will stay: The Revs have been one of the best teams in the league since his arrival. Finally won a trophy with the US Open Cup. Is excellent at spotting and developing young talent. Knows the US game better then just about any other coach in the league.

Prediction: It seems weird to fire a good coach, but FC Dallas did it last year after Colin Clarke won the West but failed to bring home the MLS Cup or US Open Cup. If the Revs get knocked out in the first couple rounds (or worse, make it to the Cup again and fail), the organization might decide they need someone else to finally win the big prize. Still, I would be very surprised if Nicol wasn't still on the sidelines next season.

FC Dallas gets Denilson, now who needs to leave?

It is finally official, Denilson is going to Dallas. After months of negotiations, the two sides have reached an agreement that will see the World Cup winner (the fourth in MLS history) take to the pitch as soon as his work visa is granted.

However, before he does that, FC Dallas must make room on their roster, which means trading a senior international (SI). The four players currently on that list are Adrian Serioux, Marcelo Saragosa, Carlos Ruiz and Pablo Ricchetti. So who should go?

The signing gives them a striker which might point to Ruiz. However, he has been playing some good ball of late and does Dallas really want to give up an attacker when they have both Cooper and Mina on the injured list? Also, could FCD find a team willing to pay his salary ($435,000) at this point in the season?

Ricchetti seems to be safe as he new to the club and has looked strong in most of his 13 starts (salary - $126,625).

Saragosa has not been outstanding but he is a good option off the bench and has the lowest price tag of all four players ($71,883). Also, I don't know if FCD wants to get rid of someone that can shutdown counter-attacks as well as he can.

Which brings us to Serioux ($120,500). He is the damaged goods the team picked up from Houston (via Toronto) during the off season. When he is healthy, he can bring strength to a backline, but he has had serious health problems during the last couple years. He would love to go to Toronto but all their SI slots are in use and head coach Mo Johnston has traded him twice in as many years, so I don't think that is an option. If he had been playing, LA might be willing to grab him, but I'm guessing that the last thing the Galaxy want right now is a recovering player.

So who goes? The easy one for Dallas would be Serioux as he really hasn't contributed anything to the club, but my guess would be Saragosa. Even though FCD is a little light in the middle, Saragosa will be the easiest trade. Low cost with a good resume should attract some interest.

Then again, maybe LA would be interested in getting Ruiz back. His amazing ability to get fouled might be exactly what the Galaxy is looking for to highlight the talent of Beckham. I guess New York could also be an option as Altidore might be moving along after this season and the team will need a second attacking option.

So who would you trade away if you were Steve Morrow?

Steve Morrow on Ruiz rumors and FCD

Coming off an impressive week that saw his side win three straight to reclaim to top spot in the West, FC Dallas coach Steve Morrow takes a moment to talk about the team and where they are going.

One of the big issues he discusses is his relationship with captain and trade rumor magnet Carlos Ruiz.

"There has been a lot of coverage surrounding Carlos the last few weeks and a lot of it unnecessary in my eyes," Morrow said. "He is still a very important player for us, a very important part of our team. He is our captain and he is very valuable to us. It is a shame he is going to miss the game against Chivas next week, which is unfortunate, and then he will be joining up with the (Guatemalan) national team just after that (to prepare for the Gold Cup), but we think very highly of him and we know that he is going to come good and he is going to score goals for his team.

"I've said it several times before, there are a lot of things that have been said that aren't true and there is no foundation for a lot of those things," Morrow added.

But Morrow talks about more then just Ruiz as he talks about his strategy for the year and how he sees his team getting stronger.

Just like any interview with a coach, he accents the positive, however there are still lots of little nuggets in the piece.

FCD - Ruiz finds the bench, Guevara not coming to town

FC Dallas coach Steve Morrow might not start captain Carlos Ruiz for a second straight match even though he is neither injured nor being punished.

Ruiz did not start FCD's weekend match against Kansas City because he missed two practices earlier in the week but if he starts on the bench again tonight against Chicago, one has to wonder if the rumors of a Ruiz trade might soon be true.

One trade that will not happen is midfielder Amado Guevara moving from Chivas USA to Texas as the two teams failed to reach an agreement.

"If you have to give too much to try to make things happen, then it doesn't become worth it," Morrow said.

With Guevara doing nothing for Chivas except collecting a paycheck, I've got to wonder why they were not willing to make something work.