NEW YORK — It's pretty safe to say that Caleb Porter not only met expectactions this year, he crushed them.
In his first year as a head coach at the pro level, Porter guided the Portland Timbers to an impressive turnaround that saw them finish the regular season with the best Western Conference record at 14-5-15.
Porter's stylish brand of soccer and strong rookie year earned him plenty of admiration throughout MLS, and on Monday, he was named the MLS Coach of the Year, beating out the New York Red Bulls' Mike Petke, Jason Kreis of MLS Cup finalists Real Salt Lake and Colorado Rapids manager Oscar Pareja.
Porter and Petke, a fellow rookie head coach, won an even percentage of the club vote at 30.61. But Porter won the media vote with 58.44 percent, more than double what Petke earned, and also claimed the player vote with 37.23 to make him Timbers' manager the clear-cut winner in 2013.
The 38-year-old Porter arrived in Portland needing to fix a club that had fallen on real hard times in 2012. The Timbers had the third-worst record in all of the league last year and had never qualified for the playoffs, but Porter righted the ship immediately and led them to the Western Conference Finals before falling to RSL last month.
Porter was rewarded by the Timbers for his strong first season, recently signing a new five-year deal that will keep him at the club for the foreseeable future.
<strong>PLAYER</strong> |
<strong>% Club Votes</strong> |
<strong>% Media Votes</strong> |
<strong>% Player Votes</strong> |
<strong>WEIGHTED TOTAL</strong> |
1. Caleb Porter (POR) |
30.61 |
58.44 |
37.23 |
<strong>126.28</strong> |
2. Mike Petke (NY) |
30.61 |
28.57 |
26.6 |
<strong>85.78</strong> |
3. Jason Kreis (RSL) |
12.25 |
3.9 |
10.43 |
<strong>26.58</strong> |
4. Oscar Pareja (COL) |
8.16 |
2.6 |
9.36 |
<strong>20.12</strong> |
MLS Coach of the Year Winners:
2013: Caleb Porter – Portland Timbers
2012: Frank Yallop – San Jose Earthquakes
2011: Bruce Arena – LA Galaxy
2010: Schellas Hyndman – FC Dallas
2009: Bruce Arena – Los Angeles Galaxy
2008: Sigi Schmid – Columbus Crew
2007: Preki – Chivas USA
2006: Bob Bradley – Chivas USA
2005: Dominic Kinnear – San Jose Earthquakes
2004: Greg Andrulis – Columbus Crew
2003: Dave Sarachan – Chicago Fire
2002: Steve Nicol – New England Revolution
2001: Frank Yallop – San Jose Earthquakes
2000: Bob Gansler – Kansas City Wizards
1999: Sigi Schmid – Los Angeles Galaxy
1998: Bob Bradley – Chicago Fire
1997: Bruce Arena – D.C. United
1996: Thomas Rongen – Tampa Bay Mutiny
