Mike Petke is going to be sticking around Utah for a while.
Real Salt Lake owner Dell Loy Hansen announced Thursday that the club had signed their head coach to a long-term contract extension. Terms of the multi-year deal were not disclosed by the team, but ESPN's Julie Stewart-Binks reported on Monday that the deal was for three years.
“Loyalty is huge for me. I am ecstatic about Mr. Hansen coming to me and offering me this contract,” Petke said in a statement put out by the team. “I’m ecstatic at the prospect of being here at least three more years. And I’m excited and ecstatic about what I think we can accomplish together – Mr. Hansen, [RSL general manager] Craig Waibel, myself, the players … the whole organization. I’m on cloud nine because I have an owner who values me, likes what I’m doing and wants to reward me for that.”
Petke was handed the reins to the RSL first team five games into the MLS regular season and after the firing of previous head coach Jeff Cassar following an 0-3-2 start to the year. He had joined the organization three months prior, as head coach of RSL's USL affiliate, Real Monarchs.
Since joining RSL, Petke has posted a 13-12-4 record, narrowly missing out on a playoff berth after the team's slow start to the season and a first half that saw the Claret-and-Cobalt roster decimated by injuries and international call-ups. Petke and RSL posted a 8-3-4 record over the final 15 games of the season, the fourth-best mark in the league over that time period, and were only eliminated from playoff contention on Decision Day.
"The arrival of Mike Petke into our organization over the last 10 months, first as head coach of the Monarchs and then in his seven months with RSL, has re-energized not only the fan base and the locker room, but myself and every single person involved," said Hansen.
Prior to his time at RSL, Petke was head coach of the New York Red Bulls for two seasons in 2013 and 2014. He led the Red Bulls to their first Supporters' Shield in 2013 and took the team to the Eastern Conference Championship in 2014, but was controversially fired by the club ahead of the 2015 season. As a player, Petke – a hard-nosed defender – made 307 MLS appearances for the Red Bulls/MetroStars, D.C. United and Colorado Rapids across 13 seasons in the league, earning two US national team caps along the way.
