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According to the Houston Chronicle, Houston Dynamo head coach Dominic Kinnear is stepping down and heading to coach the SJ Earthquakes at season’s end. Earlier on Tuesday, it was announced Chris Canetti would assume GM duties until a new technical director is found. This caused many to speculate further that Kinnear was on the way out.
MLSSoccer.com’s Houston Dynamo beat writer Darrell Lovell tweeted an import clarification to the coaching search.
Note on Kinnear move as pertains to Dynamo, club will hire a TD first and then seek the coach. Dynamo organization won't look the same.
— Darrell Lovell (@DarrellLovell) October 14, 2014
This is a smart move. It is better to hire the technical director/general manager before the head coach. Then there is a better chance that the TD and head coach will be on the same page since the technical director had a say in the coach’s hiring.
At the same time, having a separate technical director and head coach will be have a new feel for the Dynamo. In the past Kinnear served as both head coach and technical director.
Inter Heron
For Kinnear he will be returning to the SJ Earthquakes. He served as assistant coach under Frank Yallop from 2001-03 and grew up in the Fremont, California area. His wife still has immediate family near San Jose as well.
With this in mind, the move makes sense for Kinnear even though he has one year remaining on his contract. The Earthquakes could use a proven winner as their head coach after another disappointing year. Kinnear became the Houston head coach in 2006 after MLS moved the previous San Jose franchise to Houston after the 2005 season. Since then, Kinnear won the 2006 and 2007 MLS Cups as head coach and failed only to reach the playoffs in 2010 and 2014.
On the other hand, this move also makes sense for the Dynamo organization. They are planning to launch their own USL Pro team in time for the 2016 season. By having a two people fill the technical director and coaching roles, the Dynamo are better set-up to succeed when the launch their USL Pro team.
The technical director can focus more on the bigger picture with the Dynamo and the USL-Pro side. On the other hand, the coach can focus on running the MLS side while receiving input and feedback from the technical director and the USL-Pro side coach. Likewise, it takes more than one man to run a successful MLS side as well.
It appears the Dynamo’s structural change and Kinnear’s exit is on the horizon. The move benefits Kinnear and the Dynamo. Yes, it will be difficult to replicate Kinnear’s success while the Dynamo’s head coach, but the structural changes will help the Dynamo succeed both short-term and long-term.
What do you think of the latest news? Comment below.