CFG has proven twice already they hire from within, and there’s an argument to be made that they tried to make Kreis an insider with a year-long shadowing internship before the first season. Yet if they’re looking at the outside candidates, it means any insider search has been stymied.
As to an outside search, no organization interviews 28 candidates. They will have a short list (even before the coach leaves) with maybe 1-2 reach managers they know they don’t have a chance with but use to gauge the going rate of what it takes to pull the top of the top. After that, if the team talks to too many candidates, word gets around and they loose leverage. Plus, how many of the “many” 28 actually pass the eye-test fit to be a legitimate candidate - guarantee the majority don’t, especially for a club that wants to play a very specific style, but they (the managers) are hoping to win the proverbial lottery and get hires for a position above their current standing.
For the club to not have announced yet, with the season about to open with camp, they have had zero luck with their search - nobody has agreed to what has been offered. It doesn’t mean that nobody wants the NYCFC job, just that they don’t want it under the terms being discussed and offered by CFG.