After reports emerged this week that Seattle Sounders president and GM Garth Lagerwey is a candidate for the new US men's national team general manager position, another MLS team executive was linked to the position.
Now, it looks like he'll be assisting the hiring process.
Atlanta United FC vice president Carlos Bocanegra has withdrawn his name from the list of candidates, but will aid the USSF's search, according to a report from Goal.com's Ives Galarcep on Thursday evening. Earlier in the day, Galarcep reported Bocanegra was under consideration for the job.
Bocanegra, 38, has been with Atlanta since 2015, helping the 2017 expansion team to one of the best seasons by a new team in league history.
Of course, Bocanegra has deep ties to the USMNT as a player, racking up 110 caps between 2001-12 and earning the nickname "Captain America" during that stretch. Bocanegra's professional career was bookended by stints in MLS, beginning with the Chicago Fire in 2000 and ending with Chivas USA in 2014.
The position of USMNT GM, to be paired with a separate role for the US women's national team, is one of the new initiatives being implemented by new U.S. Soccer president Carlos Cordeiro. Work is already being done to fill the USMNT GM role, with the expectation that the person hired will then spearhead the effort to hire a new permanent national team head coach. At the moment, Dave Sarachan is serving as interim head coach.
The USMNT recently announced a slate of friendly matches for the first half of 2018. They will host Paraguay in Cary, North Carolina on March 27, then travel to Europe for away games at Ireland (June 2) and France (June 9).
