Nick Cushing Named Interim Head Coach (July '22) / Head Coach (November '22)

[KevinJRogers]

I agree with you -- but we have truly no idea what he wants, nor do we know what the pull of home will do to his family. He can both want to stay and be pulled by the allure of returning home. We'll find out soon enough, but the gravitational pull of returning home can be pretty strong.

I'm sort of ambivalent about the entire thing. I don't think he has ever made the team greater than the sum of its parts. I think this team last year was better than its results, and I don't think we reached our full potential this year, either. If he were to leave at the end of this postseason, I don't think I would be that upset by it. Do I want him to leave? Not really. If he were to leave, would I be upset? Not really. I do think this team has more to give and I remain unsure whether he's the man to get them there.

I'm not. But I can see why someone would think that. It's not at all unfair. It's just ... premature.

If we get to the end of next year's campaign and we're still a sixth-place team, I'll have to reconsider. But I don't expect that to happen. I believe we've got our man.

 

[SoupInNYC]

So we need to take a step back here just a bit -- I read an article in the Athletic this morning, it's not even known if Cushing is interested. Sounds like Arsenal wants him, but there's no confirmation Cushing is even interested. Hopefully he's asked about it at his press conference this week.

Press Conference was this past Saturday and two hours before it was scheduled to occur, it was moved up by 45 minutes. I was unable to attend (mostly due to kid duty, but the reschedule definitely squashed any chances I had) and I know several others that were not able to attend. Was hoping to ask if he'd been contacted about this job.

I see that this question ended up not being asked by those who attended. I'm hoping to ask about it during the next pre-game press conference if I am able to attend.

 

[gbservis]

One impressive thing about Cushing is that he has never appeared to lose the locker room despite the conditions being ripe for it. He's shepherded the team through long brutal losing streaks and managed a bunch of high-profile young guys who are probably upset about their lack of playing time, and yet we have never seen the traditional on-field collapse that typically comes when a team gives up on the coach.

His Tactics and ability to develop young players are questionable at times but the team is very together and they all appear to like playing for him. The photos after the Red Bull game showed it when guys like Jovan and others who didn't play were still right in the middle of everything celebrating with everyone.

This roster is still very incomplete and Cushing has gotten more out of it than he's getting credit for. Compared to our championship roster the CBs are worse, the midfield is the same, Maxi is much older and we still have no attackers even close to the level of Taty and Magno when he was playing at the level that earned him MLS 22 under 22 accolades. We have no subs that can come on and turn a game around. I think it's valid to question why so many of the young guys haven't developed but to claim that this roster could be a serious MLS contender with a different coach is crazy to me.

 

[ZYanksRule]

One impressive thing about Cushing is that he has never appeared to lose the locker room despite the conditions being ripe for it. He's shepherded the team through long brutal losing streaks and managed a bunch of high-profile young guys who are probably upset about their lack of playing time, and yet we have never seen the traditional on-field collapse that typically comes when a team gives up on the coach.

His Tactics and ability to develop young players are questionable at times but the team is very together and they all appear to like playing for him. The photos after the Red Bull game showed it when guys like Jovan and others who didn't play were still right in the middle of everything celebrating with everyone.

This roster is still very incomplete and Cushing has gotten more out of it than he's getting credit for. Compared to our championship roster the CBs are worse, the midfield is the same, Maxi is much older and we still have no attackers even close to the level of Taty and Magno when he was playing at the level that earned him MLS 22 under 22 accolades. We have no subs that can come on and turn a game around. I think it's valid to question why so many of the young guys haven't developed but to claim that this roster could be a serious MLS contender with a different coach is crazy to me.

I don't think this current roster is contending for MLS Cup. I do think this current roster is better than the results we've gotten. Cushing hasn't developed the players well enough and it's time for fresh ideas. If we get swept in the first round, that's really not much better than missing the playoffs entirely.