“When I first came here and I first took the job just over a year ago, I have to be honest – I never for one second saw a last-place finish.”
CHICAGO—So began the final media roundtable of the year for Chicago Fire General Manager Nelson Rodriguez. Rodriguez met with local media just two days after the Fire closed their season with a 3-2 loss against Toronto FC. A turnover of the technical and support staff, as well as Rodriguez taking over as GM, has meant a new approach for a Fire team that had missed the playoffs five of the last six seasons heading into the 2016 campaign. In a turn some didn’t expect, the Fire ended with a record of 7-17-10 and 31 points, just one better than their 2015 total.
“I would’ve liked to have seen more positive results, that certainly gives more validity to what we’re doing,” said Rodriguez, during the hour-long roundtable. “When the results don’t accompany you, you don’t have the legitimacy that you’d like to have. In terms of assembling talent and in terms of instituting our methodology, I think we’re OK. In terms of results, we’re clearly behind.”
For Fire head coach Veljko Paunovic, the first year in MLS as a coach was less than ideal. After earning success at the youth level with a U-23 World Cup title with the Serbian U-23’s, Paunovic found wins much harder to come by in his first year managing an MLS side.
“I think (Paunovic) and the staff did a really good job,” Rodriguez said. “The first thing I look at is, there were three or four moments during the course of the season where fan unease, media suspicion would’ve said that the team’s about to crumble, and we never did. Not once. In fact, in most of those situations we came back with outstanding performances.”
The Fire will have eight players on guaranteed contracts heading into the 2017 season, but the reality of another potential roster turnover seems inevitable, with several players unlikely to return. Despite another possible roster overhaul, it’s the youth that seems to be the biggest question for the Fire. In a club that has put emphasis on their Homegrown Players and academy system, Chicago’s four first-team Homegrowns saw just 356 minutes on the field – 348 of which belonged to forward Joey Calistri.
Rodriguez touted the development of the Fire Homegrowns under Paunovic, saying they’ve “gotten better.” At the same time, Rodriguez did not mince words when it came to those needing to do the work necessary to find time on the field in league play. “What we provide to our Homegrown Players is a great first-team environment. They have to look in the mirror; if they’re not cracking the field for a team that won seven games, they have more to give. We have more to give them to get it out of them. It’s never isolated.”
With a median age that ranked third-youngest at the start of 2016, Chicago certainly has players who don’t have tenure. Rodriguez acknowledged that while the team is young, quality was their biggest issue during the difficult season.
“I’ll take the youth out of it, it’s all quality,” Rodriguez said. “In saying that, I don’t just ascribe quality to the players. It goes back to coaching, it goes back to the environment I give coaches in support, so the overall quality up and down was not good enough.”
Rodriguez acknowledged the struggles the team endured in 2016 throughout the Q&A, and often referred to his three-year plan – one laid out in theory when he joined Chicago a year ago. While the struggles of the Fire’s season were unanticipated, he said that they don't change the approach the club is taking in the coming offseason, or the methods by which they plan on getting back to not only being a playoff contender, but also ultimately returning to MLS Cup – as champions.
“It doesn’t alter our plans; it doesn’t alter our approach. We’re human, so the pressure that we feel is that which we allow to get to us more than that which has been applied to us. I know today that the first five games next year are going to be under a magnifying glass for all of us, and we’ll deal with that.”
