With Gavin Wilkinson assuming the reigns of the Timbers on an interim basis following the dismissal of John Spencer earlier this season, the safe money, barring a remarkable turn of fortunes under Wilkinson, was always going to be on another candidate for the job emerging, whether from MLS coaching circles, MLS alumni, or abroad. As it turned out, the eventual winner of the Portland lottery was to come from none of these sources.
In naming Akron's Caleb Porter as their coach for the 2013 season earlier today, Portland is taking a bit of a gamble in going with a manger who, while enjoying remarkable success in his time at Akron with the likes of Steve Zakuani and Portland's Darlington Nagbe amongst his former players, has no experience in managing at the professional level where egos can be front and center and players are no longer happy to simply have a chance to play when not going to classes.
Luckily for Porter, there is at least one manager in the league who has made the transition from running a successful college program in recent times to enjoy some degree of success in MLS (Schellas Hyndman, who coached SMU from 1984-2008). Porter would be wise to phone him up if he hasn't already in order to pick his brain for any nuggets of wisdom that might be of use during his transition from Akron to Portland. Additionally, any assistance Porter can gain from the front office has he surveys the lay of the land in MLS will be absolutely paramount.
Yes, it probably is a gamble for Portland to go with Caleb Porter, but given the doldrums the Timbers have found themselves in, one can hardly begrudge them for going with a reputable name in US Soccer, even if his reputation has been developed at a lower level. There are some decent pieces already in place in Portland, so maybe, just maybe, Porter can put it all together and really bring the Timbers Army to their collective feet. Merritt Paulson will hope so.
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