When -- not if -- should Ellinger be sacked?

[prk166]

Originally Posted by Jim Umber

Good one. (even though I'm not a "Fire Ellinger" fan).

Give him this season, at least.

I agree. Firing a coach doesn't magically fix anything. I felt at the end of last year that the team was not looking like it was playign any better. In fact, if it wasn't for San Jose fielding it's reserves and Onstad somehow doing god-knows-what on Novak's fluke goal (where is that kid? I want to see him play again!), RSL would've lost every game in the last 1/3 of the season. At that they went 0-11-1.

But in stickign with Ellinger in the off-season, I think it's important for the team to stick things out for most if not all of this season. Silver bullets exist in werewolf movies, not real life. And to pretend that firing Ellinger 3, 6, or 10 games into the season is going to fix the team's problems is act as though silver bullets exist and work. Chances are in pulling the trigger we'll just end up making the problem worse, not better. After all, Chivas technically went through 3 coaches last year and where did it get them?

And if one were to fire E right now, who would be brought in? WOuld we end up going 1/2 the season with an interm coach, hoping a good choice is made available? How is that going to be any better than with E at the helm? I think 2 of the better prospects for a new coach, Brian Bliss and Tom Soehn, are unlikely to leave their respective teams very easily. They're both looking like they have great chances at winning another MLS Cup (obviously only 1 of those 2 can get there). And at that why would they want to walk into a team that hasn't won for 16+ games and that just brought in a ton of new players making it unlikely that many players can be traded this year to get players in the new coach would want? How easily we seem to forget it's a 2-way street when it comes to hiring. Coaches smart enough to be good enough to be considered are smart enough to be cautious to try to make sure to not set themselves up for failure.

[I_Believe_In_Kreis]

Originally Posted by prk166

Coaches smart enough to be good enough to be considered are smart enough to be cautious to try to make sure to not set themselves up for failure.

I don't think taking the RSL job would be "setting yourself up for failure." I think it's the opposite......you're setting yourself up to succeed. Look at the situation. RSL is a team that's way underperforming given who's on the team. There's a strong fan base, and the fans are realistic about what defines a successful season. And there's nowhere to go but up.
I think what RSL lacks is a motivator, somebody to instill in the players some passion and grit. I think the right coach would get immediate improvement and would be a local hero before long.
The fact that the rest of the ingredients are there makes this an attractive, almost ideal, job for a coach. When/if Ellinger gets fired, expect to see a lot of good coaches interested in the job.

[Aerick]

Originally Posted by I_Believe_In_Kreis

I don't think taking the RSL job would be "setting yourself up for failure." I think it's the opposite......you're setting yourself up to succeed. Look at the situation. RSL is a team that's way underperforming given who's on the team. There's a strong fan base, and the fans are realistic about what defines a successful season. And there's nowhere to go but up.
I think what RSL lacks is a motivator, somebody to instill in the players some passion and grit. I think the right coach would get immediate improvement and would be a local hero before long.
The fact that the rest of the ingredients are there makes this an attractive, almost ideal, job for a coach. When/if Ellinger gets fired, expect to see a lot of good coaches interested in the job.

I nominate IBIK!