It is one of the most coveted jobs in Major League Soccer so there will be no shortage of resumes on Darren Eales' desk in the coming days.
But who should be the next Atlanta United manager after Frank de Boer and the club parted ways last week? If there’s anything to be gathered from the first two to hold the position — Tata Martino and Frank de Boer — the Five Stripes are going to go big.
Want a big name, there’s no bigger free agent out there right now than Mauricio Pochettino, who is reportedly also being linked to Barcelona. Would former NYCFC and current Nice coach Patrick Vieira be interested in a return to MLS?
Those two were just some of the names discussed on Extratime on Monday. Charlie Davies also took time to point out the lack of Black names among MLS coaching ranks, noting some of the big-name former league stars, including Cobi Jones, Tony Sanneh, Jeff Cunningham, DaMarcus Beasley, Tim Howard, who deserve consideration for top jobs.
More Black representation on MLS sidelines and front offices has been a big part of the platform of the recently created Black Players for Change.
“That is the problem. Black players are not getting the opportunity to make that transition, to make that jump,” Davies said. “Because for me, these players all have the necessary experience as a player and have played in Europe, have played at the highest competitions, the highest level, but they haven’t been granted that initial, breakthrough role to allow them to be next great manager for the US men’s national team or great manager in Major League Soccer.”
