Hamlett took over as Fire head coach before the 2008 season, replacing Juan Carlos Osorio. In two seasons as head coach, Hamlett posted a 24-17-19 regular season record and guided the Fire to two straight Eastern Conference finals.

From what I’ve been reading around this morning Hamlett was basically a lame duck with the Fire management and the only way he was going to get a contract renewal was if he guided the Fire to a MLS Cup title this season. Like I’ve mentioned plenty of times on here this year the Fire had really high expectations and not reaching them would come at a cost, and that was Hamlett’s job.

Now where will the Fire turn to? Most figured they’d go after former Chivas USA coach Preki before Toronto snatched him up. Some now are saying that former Fire midfielder Chris Armes is one of the names in the running along with former DC head coach Tom Soehn, Chivas USA assistant Martin Vasquez, former KC head coach Curt Onalfo, and interim New York boss Richie Williams. Honestly I kind of see Soehn taking the job but it could go to Armes as well.

I do believe that letting Hamlett go is a mistake on the Fire’s part but we all knew this would be a rebuilding off season for the Fire with so many key players leaving the club. Hamlett was unfortunately going to be one of those parts going too.

Don’t be shocked to see Hamlett fall somewhere else in a hurry. Clubs like DC, New York, and Chivas all still need a manager here and you gotta figure Hamlett has to be at the top of some lists now.

A change is coming to Chivas USA as Preki is set to leave the club. (Getty Images)

Don’t say we didn’t tell you so. Preki is not be coming back as Chivas USA’s manager next season as his contract option for 2010 is not being picked up. Goal.com is reporting that with Preki leaving assistant Martin Vasquez is likely to get the top spot as Chivas’ front man.

Vasquez has been an assistant with the club since 2005 and should become the first Mexican-American coach in league history.

Interestingly enough, something I’ve been saying here for a few weeks is that Preki is also likely to join Bob Bradley with the US National team as an assistant now that John Hackworth has left the USMNT to join Peter Nowak in Philadelphia. Remember before Bradley left for the USMNT he had Preki as an assistant at Chivas USA, along with Vasquez.

No official word has come from the team but I’d imagine we will hear something by the end of the week on this. Once we get more details on this we will pass it along to you.

As mentioned earlier on my Twitter feed today has been a slow day due to some bad headaches on my end. I won’t go into it much but I am feeling a little better after some medicine kicked in here (thanks to the few who asked). I didn’t have much planned for tonight but I did want to get into the coaching carousel that is going on in Major League Soccer. I nearly got into it last night but had more goodies to talk about but when the news came down this morning about Tom Soehn it seemed fitting to get into it tonight.

Anyways, we have four clubs (KC, New York, Toronto and DC) without full-time managers at the moment and from what I’ve been hearing for weeks a couple other clubs will join them along the way.

Now some obvious choices believe it or not won’t partake from what I’ve heard all season in this, that being Dallas and San Jose. Just no way right now Dallas is parting with Schellas Hyndman and same goes to Frank Yallop in San Jose. Both pretty much will get a pass for this season and I’d imagine Hyndman will continue to get a pass until he wants to leave coaching.

I also won’t get into the even more obvious choices here like your Columbus, Seattle, Houston and LA’s of the league who have solid coaching at the moment and have no plans to get rid of them or see the man in charge leave.

But as stated a few clubs will more than likely see a change and some may surprise you in the end.

Chicago: Lots of talk for the last couple months have been that Denis Hamlett isn’t happy and the Fire front office isn’t exactly happy with him. Don’t be shocked that if the Fire go out this weekend against New England that Hamlett will leave the team shortly after for good. I’d say he will be in line for another league job though as he is still a solid head coach.

Where will Hamlett go? I think in the end he will either be  back as an assistant with someone else for a year until some expansion teams come into the league.

What will Chicago do? Big changes are going to come down this winter in the Windy City and finding a good coach will be a tough one if you ask me. Some say have said Preki but maybe Tom Soehn now.

Chivas USA: Preki will probably be leaving this club, some have even mentioned that he is nearly out the door as it is. Even if they win MLS Cup this year I just don’t see this marriage lasting between the two sides.

Where will Preki go? I still believe Preki will end up in Kansas City but I wouldn’t sleep on him taking an assistant role with the US national team under Bob Bradley either. I may be wrong here but I don’t believe Bradley has replaced Peter Nowak yet. Preki was his assistant with Chivas and I kind of think it is a possibility.

What will Chivas do? They probably will turn to a Mexican coach for a change. Makes sense if you ask me.

DC United: Now that Soehn is out the door the question becomes where does this club go? I think there are some obvious choices out there.

What will DC do? I think its obvious to go after one of your own. Either Richie Williams or John Harkes should be considered as the top candidates here, especially Williams. I’ve even seen Curt Onalfo’s name mentioned out there too, but really do you want to go with a coach that never progressed with a team like KC? I think Williams is the best bet here.

Kansas City: A few folks are telling me in KC that Peter Vermes is taking the job for himself instead of hiring someone else. Honestly if that is the case don’t expect a lot out of this club in 2010. But if they do go outside I think some names are pretty obvious.

What will KC do? I think first and foremost you have to go for Preki. He was a big time player for the Wizards back in the day and I think he would be the perfect fit for this club that needs a make-over. He did well with Chivas and I think KC has plenty of talent that Preki could mold into a real winner.

New York Red Bulls: They have the answer right in front of them but more than likely this club will not go after their current interim manager Richie Williams.

What will New York do? More than likely they will go after yet another European coach for this job. No real word on who yet but there is a reason why this club is failing and it is because of the massive amount of turnover in coaching they have had over the years.

What will Williams do? I think like I said before he will end up in DC. The writing is just too clear for that not to happen at this point now.

Real Salt Lake: I’ve said for months Jason Kreis was on the hot seat but maybe this playoff run (depending on how long it lasts) could save him. But I still have a hunch that a change could be made for this club that really hasn’t shown any real signs of improvement over the last couple years. Think about it they haven’t even gotten above .500% with Kreis as manager and yet they’ve made the playoffs. That won’t happen again next year I can tell you that as the league continues to grow.

What will RSL do? If they do can Kreis or he steps away I think the job can go to assistant Robin Fraser easily. If not him then I think possibly taking a hard pitch to someone like Denis Hamlett or even Tom Soehn wouldn’t be a bad idea for this bunch.

Toronto FC: They’ve gotten rid of Chris Cummins and now the word on the street is Mo Johnston is going to be making a series push for a long-time MLS assistant. Will it work?

What will TFC do? The hot rumor right now is Johnston is going to go hard after Houston assistant John Spencer this winter. Honestly it is about damn time for Spencer who really should have been hired last year by Colorado. I just have to wonder if Spencer wants to go to Toronto at this time though.

“We have decided to move forward without Chris for next season,” said manager, director of soccer Mo Johnston. “We want to thank Chris for his contribution to the club over the last year and a half, and wish him all the best in the future. For us, the work now begins on finding a new coach, and getting him in here before pre-season starts February 1st.”

Again, it doesn’t come to much of a surprise to most folks. Toronto needs to find some stability though moving forward and Cummins just wasn’t the right guy for the job. I would imagine that fans will expect a big hire for this position as no one has been able to get things going in the right direction with this club after three years in the league. I would say that this season was a decent step in the right direction but getting to the playoffs was certainly a must for this bunch and it didn’t happen.

First up is a post I saw earlier today that I felt needed to be held off until today. It centers on an issue that a lot of non-soccer folks have with our beloved game. Draws. No one likes them and a lot of MLS clubs have plenty of them to go around this season.

This author decided pointed out in a way that I still kind of agree with him on that there are too many teams getting playoff births in MLS. Its an issue that has been surrounding this league since year one for that matter. But at the same time as the league expands its should be a non-issue.

But the solution to “make MLS more exciting” isn’t a bad one. Simplify the playoffs into a four-team, three-game deal. But the more I think about that and the more I see how the league is doing with it’s current eight-team set up going into the final week of the season (with seven clubs in contention for three spots), I think the current set-up is fine. The drama that the league has created is good going into the final week of the season and it will only continue to get better from here on out as the league grows.

If it were the top four clubs going into the playoffs or even the best two from each conference we’d already know three of the four and it would sadly rule out three really good clubs from one conference from getting in.

It took a while for the league to get to the point that it is at but this playoff set up of eight clubs isn’t so bad after all. It does however need tweaking in it’s structure of number of games and what not but that is a discussion for another day.
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Cummins To Stay or Go?

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Should he or shouldn’t he? For Toronto manager that is the question going into the final week of the year. An interesting quote posted by Duane Rollins here from Cummins who said he’d stay on as manager if they asked him and he’d leave if they asked him. At the end of the day though I totally agree with Rollins on the point where Toronto needs stability in their coaching moving forward. They can’t continue the trend of a new coach each year. We’ve seen what that does to a club, just look at New York…they’ve never had stability in coaching.

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Bradley’s Problem With A Crowded Midfield

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The bulk of this for those who can’t read this link goes like this. Now that the US has Jermaine Jones along with the rising talents of Stuart Holden, Robbie Rogers and Jose Francisco Torres, the US has a fairly crowded midfield situation going into next year. Let’s not forget that we should see Maurice Edu come back from an injury and let’s not forget that we could see the likes of DeMarcus Beasley or Sacha Kljestan reemerge again.

Is it a bad thing for the US to be stocked in the midfield? Nope, its a good thing really. Now if we can only get loaded up on defense I think we’d be pretty set.

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Pittsburgh is the new Wembly?

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A very, very interesting thought on which city would be best suited to be the play that could be dubbed as the US Wembly. Some have debated that stadiums like the Home Depot Center, Soldier Field, RFK Stadium or even Giants Stadium are the US version of Wembly Stadium. But this article blows them out of the water suggestion Pittsburgh would be best suited to be America’s town for soccer. Yes there is no MLS team in even the nearest of futures for the Steel City but the authors here were looking for the town that was big enough and didn’t have nearly the Latino following that DC and others have. It sure is an interesting thought. Ever thought of the US playing Mexico from Heinz Field in February instead of at Crew Stadium? It could work is all I am saying though I don’t know if its the best fit for an American Wembly.

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A Lesson In US Kit History

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I did one of these a while back but not nearly as good as this one with getting grades on all the former kits. All I can say is why don’t we have a red kit these days? Our former red kits have been some of our best.

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NCAA Looking To Change Play With Pros Rule?

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In the middle of my college players search I found this link about how the NCAA is looking at possibly changing a big rule that could really help players in MLS academies not lose their amateur status. Let’s hope the NCAA gets this right so more guys in MLS academies can still play in college and not affect their status with their clubs.

KC will no longer be lead by Curt Onalfo. (Brian Stevens, WVH Photo Correspondent)

Turns out losing 6-0 can get you fired, but I’m sure that wasn’t the only reason. According to a couple KC blogs (DTB and Back Post), Kansas City has fired head coach Curt Onalfo. Along with Onalfo, assistant coach, Kris Kelderman was also let go leaving Kerry Zavagnin and John Pascarella as the two remaining coaches.

This move really doesn’t shock me in the least bit. For the last season and a half I’ve thought Onalfo was a decent coach but his clubs continues to be right at average or below it. I know I got a lot of flack over putting him on the hot seat these last couple of years but when you aren’t really improving a club something has to be said about it.

Onalfo held a 27-29-22 record in MLS play after taking over prior to the 2007 season. That just doesn’t cut it folks. Their few wins this year have come against New York, San Jose, RSL, Seattle and New England. The Seattle and RSL road wins were good but aside from that they didn’t have much to go on this season.

I think it is a positive step for OnGoal (KC’s owners) to step up and make a change here because after a couple months of not winning something had to be done.

Kansas City was expected to be one of the clubs on their way up this season but clearly things are just a bit below average once again there.

An official announcement should come tomorrow from the club.

Preki on the move? (Getty Images)

It sounds possible right now for Chivas USA to be making a coaching change in the very near future. Andrea Canales at Goal.com says that a change could be coming thanks to Chivas owner Jorge Vergara breaking his silence with the media.

The official Chivas site mentioned that Vergara also said that a present assistant coach at Guadalajara, Luis Manuel Díaz, would move to Chivas USA to serve as an assistant.

This was news to official Chivas USA media relations staff, who explained that they had not been informed of any incoming coaching staff.

One report was even more specific about how the MLS club could be affected. Informador.com reported that Díaz was going to Chivas USA to be the assistant of a new head coach that would be named in a short while.

That would mean, of course, that Vergara is planning to dismiss 2007 MLS Coach of the Year Preki, who led Chivas USA to the playoffs in every year of his tenure, but failed to get the team past the opening round both times.

Its not 100% but right now it wouldn’t be surprising. Vergara seems to be the type that isn’t patient enough to wait for Preki to turn this club into a year-to-year winner like he probably expects them to be. So bringing in another coach that probably doesn’t know the MLS game seems logical right? Wrong, its nothing more than a step in the wrong direction if it happens.

If Preki is to go don’t be shocked to see him land on his feet elsewhere. Possibly Columbus as some are going to suggest but I don’t see it as Rob Warzycha seems to have that job in the bag. Or maybe Preki takes a year off and goes to coach in Philly? Who really knows what will end up here but if a change happens for Chivas I just hope its someone who knows the MLS game.

The only thing that could stand in the way is a clause in Schmid’s contract with Columbus that stated he had a “no-compete clause” in 2009. It’s in the league’s hands right now but we all know it won’t take long before he is being introduced in Seattle as their head coach.

One source with knowledge of Schmid’s contract situation cited a non-compete clause in Schmid’s Crew contract that could preclude him from coaching the Sounders or any other MLS team in 2009. The Crew has reportedly filed tampering charges against the Sounders.

“Something has occurred that has sort of made my decision for me,” said Schmid. “It’s in the league’s hands”

Sounders technical director Chris Henderson deferred comment until today.

Top assistant Robert Warzycha is the clear choice to replace him in Columbus. Most people feel Warzycha is ready to step in, which will be a good thing to keep some continuity with the club who will be trying to defend a MLS Cup title.

Its still a fairly big loss for Columbus. Schmid put together a real winner after a few years in Columbus. They’ve already lost Brad Evans, a solid reserve for them; Chad Marshall is set to leave to possibly German, which is a huge loss; but Schmid could be the biggest of them all.

I am eager to see what most Crew fans think of losing Schmid. I know some are excited to see Warzycha take over and get his chance here, but still losing Schmid is a big loss.

What do you all make of this news?

Can Seattle land Sigi as their coach? (ony Quinn/MLS/WireImage.com)

The biggest surprise (sarcasm) of the month, Sigi Schmid is talking to expansion club Seattle Sounders FC about their head coach opening. We’ve all thought he was a candidate since the start of 2008 and now it is a little more official.

Sigi Schmid is officially a candidate to be named head coach of Seattle Sounders FC, a notion made clear by his appearance Thursday at Seahawks headquarters.

Schmid and general manager Adrian Hanauer met today and are expected to continue the discussion about the job Friday. Schmid, who coached the Columbus Crew to the 2008 MLS championship, is no longer with Columbus after his contract expired Sunday. This is his first meeting with Sounders FC executives.

While this doesn’t officially mean he will be the next Sounders FC coach, most of us know it pretty much means his time in Columbus is done unless the Crew can some how match Seattle’s offer (which will probably be one of the best in the league in terms of coaching salary). Columbus could come back and shock us all with a better offer for Schmid but I am not holding out for it (and I am willing to bet most Crew fans aren’t either).

I really see this as a matter of time kind of thing for the two sides. Columbus will definitely miss Schmid once he leaves but I do believe they will be fine because long-time assistant Robert Warzycha will more than likely take over the head coaching duties. Most have seen Warzycha as a suitable replacement for Schmid for a while now, and I for one totally agree with that as I see him doing well in that position.

“A lot of things happened through the year that I was not happy with in many ways, but I think because of family now I’ve decided it’s the right time to put all my energy into my family and recharged my batters and myself, too,” Clavijo said.

Like I said last week, I believed it was one of those things were he was getting out before he was outed in the offseason. The front office decided not to do anything to him during the year but you can tell they gave him little confidence that he would be returning next season as the head coach of the Rapids.

Even though we all know he was going to get the boot at the end of the year it is almost always better to see someone leave on their own power.

Clavijo said he will inform the team of his decision and endorse assistant coach Gary Smith, who lead the team to a 2-1 victory over the Kansas City last weekend. My bet is Smith will carry out the duties for the rest of the season and Colorado will push heavy for Houston assistant John Spencer in the offseason.

Are you shocked at all to see Clavijo stepping down right now? What does this mean for the Rapids?