Curt Onalfo’s firing earlier this week did not just impact D.C. United’s season and Onalfo’s reputation as a soccer manager. It may also have been a blow to young coaches inside and outside MLS.
Onalfo, who clearly experienced trouble managing a group on two separate occasions, was the second-youngest head coach in the league after Jason Kreis, who is at the helm of defending champions Real Salt Lake. The Onalfo experience in Kansas City and DC could very well lead to fewer MLS teams taking a chance on younger coaches.
So what age classifies as young when it comes to coaches?
Removing D.C. United from the equation given their interim situation, there are only four coaches younger than 45 years of age in MLS, which is equivalent to the number younger than 45 in England. The average age of MLS coaches, excluding Ben Olsen, is 48, and that compares well with the average of 49 in the EPL.
But the data clearly points to fewer and fewer opportunities being provided to the young American coaches. In the 15-year history of the league, you can count the under-40 group on one hand: Kreis (Real Salt Lake at 34), Onalfo (Kansas City Wizards at 37) and Mike Jeffries (FC Dallas at 39).
Also, there is just one MLS coach in his first year as a first-division head coach: 46-year-old Martin Vasquez at Chivas USA. Of all the 16 managers in MLS, 11 of them have already managed for three or more seasons in the league. Changeover is limited. Perhaps the stakes are just too high in MLS for clubs to take a gamble.
Ex-Fire assistant Daryl Shore, who was long touted as the next up-and-comer in the coaching ranks, a few weeks ago took over USSF D2 side Miami FC for his first head coaching gig at the age of 40. Perhaps a new reserve league in MLS would help prospects like Shore get experience sooner.
In the end, it should come as no wonder when the names don’t just roll off the tongue when it comes to naming an American-bred successor for Bob Bradley, should he be replaced as US manager.
