After spending the better part of two decades working as an MLS coach, Denis Hamlett is ready for his front office close-up.
It was announced on Tuesday that Hamlett will replace Ali Curtis as sporting director of the New York Red Bulls. Hamlett, 48, moves into his new role after spending the last two seasons working as the club’s top assistant under head coach Jesse Marsch, who, in a swap of their organizational relationship, will now report to Hamlett.
The move also brings an end to an offseason of palace intrigue at Red Bull Arena. After winning the Supporters’ Shield in Curtis’ first year in charge in 2015 and finishing with the top record in the Eastern Conference last year, the Red Bulls officially parted ways with their former sporting director in February, weeks after it was first reported that he and the club were negotiating a settlement and Hamlett had taken over as acting sporting director.
Hamlett, who is in Vancouver with the Red Bulls ahead of the second leg of their CCL quarterfinal series against the Whitecaps on Thursday (10 pm ET; UDN in the US), declined to say when he was first approached about the sporting director role during a conference call with reporters on Wednesday.
“I’m not going to get into specifics as far as timeline regarding this opportunity,” he said. “I think that’s important to keep that respectful and private. For me, it’s an enormous responsibility and I’m grateful for this challenge.”
Hamlett’s had a hectic start to his new job, with the Red Bulls flying to Vancouver on Tuesday ahead of their match against the Whitecaps, Wednesday's MLS roster compliance deadline and New York’s regular season opener scheduled for Sunday at expansion club Atlanta United FC(7:30 pm ET; FS1 in the US, MLS LIVE in Canada).
While things have been a bit frantic this week, Hamlett is confident that his years of experience in MLS and his longstanding relationship with Marsch – the two have been working together on and off in various capacities since 1998 – will make his adjustment to his new role relatively smooth.
“I spent many years in the league going back as a player, as a scout, as an assistant coach, a head coach,” he said. “The timing of it is wonderful. I feel like my experiences in MLS since the beginning has been crucial to my understanding of the league, the personnel, the talent, what it takes to win in this league – I won many championships when I was on the staff in Chicago.
“For me, it was just a matter of perfect timing with where I am in my career. I feel confident that all my experience and work that I’ve done have put me in a position now where I can help this club compete for championships and hopefully be one of the model franchises of MLS.”
Hamlett will now turn his attention toward making sure New York’s roster is compliant with league rules prior to Wednesday’s deadline and hiring a new assistant coach. One candidate could be former Red Bulls forward John Wolyniec, who led New York’s USL team, Red Bulls II, to the league title last year.
The Red Bulls currently have two assistants on staff in Chris Armas and goalkeeping coach Preston Burpo.
“We’re going to evaluate all options. We think John has done a wonderful job with Red Bull II,” Hamlett said. “So again, we’ll evaluate all options available, but the most important thing right now is getting ready for the CCL game and giving all the support we can for Jesse and his coaching staff.”
Hamlett said that he won’t change the club’s overarching philosophy and that the team is “open” to filling its third Designated Player spot. He made clear, however, that he thinks he’s taking over an already strong group, emphasizing the continuity of the Fire teams he worked on – he was in Chicago from 1998-2009, serving as head coach in 2008 and 2009 – as something he’d like to bring to New York.
As far as any concerns about a lack of continuity at the top of the New York organization, Hamlett said he felt no pause about taking the sporting director role after Curtis’ surprising exit.
“Like I said, I think this is an incredible opportunity for me and I feel like I am ready for this challenge,” he said. “Life’s all about challenges, so I look at this as a big challenge and a big opportunity. I’m confident in my abilities and I’m looking forward to taking this club to new heights.”
