DC United fans are hoping for a return to playoffs in 2010. (Getty Images)

I wasn’t entirely sure I’d get to this offseason look at DC United today but extra time this afternoon came out of no where. So far these last couple weeks we’ve looked at a handfull of teams including Philadelphia, Chicago, Chivas, Colorado and Columbus.

Today is all about the Black-and-Red who have seen a pretty big change this winter. From Curt Onalfo taking over for Tom Soehn to seeing Ben Olsen retiring to not offering Christian Gomez or Luciano Emilio a new contract, this is a whole new United.

Let’s see exactly what they’ve done and what they need to work on before the season starts. Continue Reading…

Curt Onalfo is set to become DC's next manager. (Brian Stevens, WVH Photo Correspondent)

In a way one could say DC United is settling for Curt Onalfo as their next head coach. They’ve looked high and low but in the end it seems like Onalfo is their guy.

A couple reports suggest that DC will make the change as early as today. This decision comes just a couple weeks shy of Akron head coach Caleb Porter turning down the job to stay with the Zips on the college level. (EDIT: DC announces the hiring of Onalfo as their head coach.)

This should be the first of a lot of changes this offseason for DC. Onalfo will be set to guide a DC club that has underachieved for two seasons in a row, or four if you count the disappointing Supporter’s Shield winning seasons that didn’t yield a MLS Cup birth. The club is also going to have to make some big decisions on players too this winter. Ben Olsen just retired and forward Luciano Emilio could be set to leave MLS as well.

But thankfully for the Black-and-Red the talent is there with young stars like Chris Pontius and Rodney Wallace. If they have yet another solid draft next month they could be set to contend once again in the eastern conference.

Is Onalfo the right man for the job after getting canned in KC after two and a half seasons? Even with his ties to DC from the late late 90s I do question the move. I do see it as a settling move since there were no other coaches out there that wanted this position. DC does have a long way to return to it’s glory days if you ask me and I’m not sure if Onalfo is the right guy for that task. His KC clubs for some reason never progressed into anything special and typically stayed around .500% each year.

With Onalfo off the market and DC out of the coaching search race it now leaves both New York and Chicago left to find a manager here.

What do you all make of this hire by DC? Good move or are they just settling for someone here?

Why isn't Colin Clarke back on some club's radar? (USLSoccer)

Its hard to believe that three clubs are still without a head coach this evening. Well one has an interim head coach but two big time clubs in Major League Soccer end the day without a lead boss, which could be setting them back a bit for the upcoming month with the transfer window opening up and the SuperDraft.

Yes I am talking about you DC United and Chicago Fire. Both still lack a manager after parting ways with Tom Soehn and Denis Hamlett respectively.

Last night we heard news that DC would not be able to get Akron head coach Caleb Porter which put their coaching search into a big spin. SBI broke news earlier that DC even went as far to try and get San Jose manager Frank Yallop and Houston assistant John Spencer for the job. San Jose said they couldn’t approach Yallop and Spencer said he wasn’t interested.

Yikes.

Are things that bad that no one wants to coach in DC? Second of all it says a lot about what DC thinks of former Kansas City manager Curt Onalfo who seemed to be the next guy in line after Porter. But with Porter out of the picture it just sounds like Onalfo was not good enough (which he isn’t by the way) to get the job. Now DC could still go that route if they end up with no other options but it sounds like they will continue to drag their feet in this search until they get someone better than Onalfo.

Why isn’t DC going after someone like RSL assistant Robin Fraser? Or former Dallas manager Colin Clark who’s now in the USL with Puerto Rico.

Chicago isn’t much better here with their search. According to ESPNChicago.com the Fire aren’t completely sold on their two final choices that were reported in former DC boss Tom Soehn or Chivas USA midfielder Jesse Marsch.

Honestly if I were the Fire I’d go for Soehn. I know things didn’t pan out in DC with him but honestly the guy can coach in my opinion. DC just had a loaded schedule with some injury issues the years he was there. Chicago won’t have as loaded of a schedule in 2010, just possibly SuperLiga again.

The ESPNChicago article also mentions some other possible candidates for the gig like Thomas Rongen (not a bad pick), Spencer (who won’t take a job until 2011 with Portland), and Clarke.

What do I think each club will do? Honestly I wouldn’t be shocked to start hearing John Harkes name for the DC gig here soon. I know he’s comfortable with his job at ESPN but he did do some assistant coaching under Bruce Arena in New York. In the end I do kind of see United settling for Onalfo. As for the Fire I think they’ll end up with a surprise pick like Clarke or even Rongen if they can get him away from his U-20 national team post.

The search for the next head coach of DC United continues as one of the leading candidates withdraws from consideration this evening. Akron head coach Caleb Porter seemed to be a shoe-in for the job but has decided to stay on with the Zips. The Akron Beacon Journal is reporting Porter has signed an extension with the University for another five years.

The 34-year old has been regarded as one of the top coaches in the college game today. He’s lead Akron over the last couple seasons to some amazing records including this years near perfect run where they fell in PKs in the College Cup final to Virginia.

Now it seems like DC will have to turn their attention elsewhere to possibly former Kansas City manager Curt Onalfo who is said to be the other leading candidate for the opening. I can’t say I’d be overly excited if I were a United fan about the possibility of hiring Onalfo here.

DC's Kevin Payne is looking high and low for a new coach.

Some more news has come out today about DC United’s on-going coaching search to replace Tom Soehn. Yesterday we mentioned that Richie Williams is out of the running but a few more names have emerged thanks to Steve Goff’s latest report this afternoon. One name isn’t shocking at all if you follow the college game here in the States.

Akron head coach Caleb Porter is said to be one of the top candidates for DC’s head coach spot. Porter is a very good coach that has taken his Zips on an impressive run over the last few years going 68-11-7 record in four seasons, including 23-0 and a College Cup berth this year. As good as Porter has been in Akron one has to wonder will a 34-year old college coach that has very little MLS experience (played for both San Jose and Tampa) be a good fit for a big time club like DC? Continue Reading…

This may come to be a bit of a surprise to most that follow DC United. According to Steve Goff the club has removed interim New York manager Richie Williams from their shortlist of coaches that they are looking to hire.

Goff says the club is looking to make a hire this week and is looking currently at former Kansas City manager Curt Onalfo, some college coaches and some from overseas.

If you ask me this is quite a shocking development. For months I’ve been under the impression that Williams was the guy for DC. I wonder what changed along the way or if Williams himself decided not to head to DC. My guy feeling is if Onalfo isn’t the guy then DC turns to a college coach here.

Jimmy Conrad and Josh Wolff lead the way in 2009 for Kansas City. (WVH Photo Correspondent Brian Stevens)

The bandwagon was getting bigger for this club going into 2009. Many folks had hoped this was the year the Kansas City Wizards would get over the hump and make a big splash in the eastern conference.

But 2009 didn’t go as planned like some in Kansas City had hoped. The team stumbled out of the gate losing their first two games and some already had questions on the offense that was lacking. Then a funny thing happened in April things looked like they were headed in the right direction when former coach Curt Onalfo started using Josh Wolff at striker instead of on the wings. The club won three games out of the five in the month and looked good.

Then May and June rolled around and the Wizards won only two of their next seven league games while losing one and drawing two in SuperLiga play. From there on things turned sour for good on the season. The Wizards went through July and August winless and saw Onalfo get canned after a 6-0 beating in Dallas. Peter Vermes stepped in after that but he never was able to get the team back over the hump as the club failed to reach the post season.

What Went Right In 2009?
The club did have some success in tough stadiums like in Seattle and in Salt Lake. When guys like Josh Wolff and Claudio Lopez were healthy and playing in the right spots on the field things would click offensively. Defensively things went well when Jimmy Conrad was leading the way in the back. It seemed that when they won games it was by a shutout too. There are a few decent pieces in defense with this club that they can build on for sure.

What Went Wrong In 2009?
A lot went wrong as the writing was on the wall for Onalfo’s head for a long while. Most people didn’t want to admit to it in KC but it certainly was there for all to see. Secondly they had one of the worst home records in the league which usually means you don’t go very far. Lastly I just never felt Vermes and the owners put enough into this team this season. Their lack of movement with their roster was rather pathetic. Now I know the economy could have had something to do with that but they were one of the few teams that rarely made a move this year. Things were broke and they just failed to fix it.

What’s Next?
First of all they have to figure out their coaching issue, is Vermes going to stay or is he going to move back into the technical director/general manager role. Finding a coach that can get the most out of this group will be key. I think next in line for this bunch is really fixing a midfield that is so damaged. I know injuries played a part in their issues but for the most part it was a lack of consistency with this group that caused a lot of things in 2009. Secondly they need a go-to scorer with Wolff. I know Claudio Lopez is a good setup man but even he needs more help. Lastly it may be time to move on from Kevin Hartman in goal. This club has a good fan base and they definitely deserve some attention to their roster by this ownership.