When Red Bulls sporting director Erik Stover and technical director Jeff Agoos went to Austria last week to meet with Red Bull management about the struggles of the worst team in MLS, it was thought that the meeting would result in the firing of one or both of them, and the firing of head coach Juan Carlos Osorio.
It appears all three are safe (for now).
Sources have told SBI that none of the three members of the Red Bulls front office will be let go, a decision that comes as the team is in the midst of one of the worst seasons in MLS history.
It was believed that the club might be tempted to make a coaching change during the team's bye week, and ahead of Thursday's high-profile match vs. the Los Angeles Galaxy (and David Beckham), but it now looks as though Osorio will stay on as head coach for the foreseeable future.
So why would Red Bull stick with Osorio and Co.? The regular season is essentially a lost cause now, leaving the team with only the CONCACAF Champions League to play for. Osorio is the man who helped guide the team to that Champions League berth by steering the Red Bulls to an MLS Cup final berth last fall, so Red Bull may be inclined to give him the rest of this year to see if he can turn things around before the end of the season.
A more cynical scenario would be that Red Bull isn't about to spend money on another head coach to come in during a lost season. With dramatic changes more likely to come this off-season, Red Bull may have decided that it can ride out this season and make the necessary changes in four months.
Something that may have worked in Osorio's favor is the belief that, despite the record, the team's players haven't turned on Osorio. It was a revolt by veteran players that helped lead to the firing of Bruce Arena after the 2007 season, but sources tell me that Osorio has the support of all the team's key veterans despite the team's awful 2-14-3 season.
Does that mean Red Bull might not come back in a few weeks and rattle off some firings? Certainly not, but at the very least it looks as though Osorio will be in charge for the team's Champions League play-in series vs. Trinidadian squad W Connection later this month.
It isn't unheard of for a coach enduring such a bad season to keep his job. Bora Milutinovic remained as New York/New Jersey MetroStars head coach for the entire 1999 season despite the team going the entire summer without a win on its way to the worst record in team history (7-25). Kansas City's Bob Gansler endured a similarly awful season that same year. The next season, in 2000, Gansler and the Wizards won the MLS Cup final while the MetroStars, under new head coach Octavio Zambrano (and with Osorio as assistant coach) came within a game of the MLS Cup.
What's my take? While it would have been completely understandable if Red Bull decided to fire both Osorio and Agoos, giving Osorio the rest of this season to try and turn things around a year after the Red Bulls reached the final with him in charge isn't all that unreasonable.
What do you think of the decision to keep the team's leadership intact? Shocked? Angry? Are you okay with the team giving Osorio the rest of the season? Think the team can turn things around?
Share your thoughts below.
