The Earthquakes are signaling ambition with their manager search, as the club currently sits bottom in MLS
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San Jose reportedly eying five candidatesIan Russell currently interim bossQuakes currently worst record in MLSGetty ImagesWHAT HAPPENED?
Changes appear to be coming to the MLS cellar dwellers in the San Jose Earthquakes. The team is ramping up its search for a new head coach and has reportedly interviewed five candidates for the job, including two former USMNT bosses: Gregg Berhalter and Bruce Arena. The other candidates include Gio Savarese, Robin Fraser and current interim coach Ian Russell.
The Quakes currently have 18 points this, the lowest in the league and 10 points adrift from the second-worst team in MLS in the New England Revolution. Tom Bogert was first to report the news.
AdvertisementGetty ImagesTHE BIGGER PICTURE
San Jose is in need of a culture reset, which means the team needs to get its next coaching decision right. Leading forward Jeremy Ebobisse painted a bleak picture of the franchise last weekend.
“Everything is a disaster, frankly," Ebobisse said. “We can’t talk about next year because I don’t know if I’m going to be here next year. I don’t know if some of the guys in the locker room will be here”
The team has made the postseason three times since 2013 and has seen high-profile coaching moves, such as Matías Almeyda fail to deliver.
The five candidates mentioned all have MLS experience, so that's an advantage over the Almeyda experiment. San Jose will have some competition for Berhalter, as the Chicago Fire are also linked with a move for the recent U.S. boss. Despite a controversial exit from New England, Arena is the most decorated MLS coach out of the group — winning five Cups.
Savarese and Fraser have had success with small market teams, with a proven track record of getting teams to overachieve with modest resources.
Considering the team is the Bay Area, has a solid academy setup and plays in one of the league's newer stadiums, they have the components to recruit well on both the technical and playing staff.
DID YOU KNOW?
The lowest point total in MLS history goes to the 2001 Tampa Bay Mutiny with 14, yet it should be noted that team played in only 27 matches and was in a 12-team league. Since switching to a 34-game format in 2010, the 2013 D.C. United team would fall into the lowest point total at 16 points.
If San Jose fails to pick up any more points, it would be the second-worst tally in a 34-game format. San Jose is also tied for third in that category, as it got just 21 points in the 2018 season.
WHAT NEXT FOR SAN JOSE?
San Jose has just four games left before its season comes to an end. The club travels to Canada to face a playoff-hopeful in Montreal on Saturday.