Two names have surfaced in connection to FC Cincinnati’s vacant head coach position, with The Athletic’s Paul Tenorio reporting that Dominic Kinnear and Jaap Stam are both in contention for the role.
The developments come after MLSsoccer.com’s Tom Bogert reported Friday that former New York City FC head coach Dome Torrent was contacted about the position, but those talks didn't progress to a formal interview.
Kinnear is currently an assistant coach for the LA Galaxy, and previously was head coach for the Houston Dynamo and San Jose Earthquakes. He steered the Dynamo to MLS Cup wins in 2006 and 2007, plus was an MLS player from 1996-2000 with three different clubs.
Stam was in charge of Eredivisie side Feyenoord before stepping down in October, and served as the head coach of Reading and PEC Zwolle in recent seasons. A center back who played for Manchester United and other storied clubs, Stam’s time at PEC Zwolle overlapped with Gerard Nijkamp, the general manager of FC Cincinnati.
Speaking with reporters this past Wednesday, Nijkamp commented on how the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic has impacted how quickly they can fill their head coach vacancy. The 2020 MLS season is currently suspended through May 10.
"The coaching search is part of the challenge," Nijkamp said. "If we don't know when we restart this league, it will impact when we appoint a head coach. Of course, if we appointed a head coach today, he'd get time to share his ideas with staff and interact with the players. But we have to keep in our minds to take responsibility for all members of the club. In this case, the timing for getting a new head coach is key.”
Previous head coach Ron Jans resigned in February before the 2020 MLS season began, all during an investigation surrounding a complaint made by the MLS Players Association that accused Jans of making "extremely inappropriate comments." Yoann Damet took over on an interim basis, and he's since steered Cincy to an 0-2 start.
The roster was somewhat overhauled this past offseason after Cincy went 6-22-6 during their expansion season. In the final third, Jurgen Locadia, Yuya Kubo and Siem de Jong all joined.
