A few names to ponder for the Houston Dynamo head coaching vacancy

One year after going through the hiring process, Houston Dynamo FC general manager Pat Onstad is once again undergoing a search for a head coach that can lead his club back to the MLS Cup Playoffs. 

Paulo Nagamura was terminated just eight months into his attempt at the job in September after being on course to fail to qualify for the 2022 playoffs. A few weeks still remain in this season's schedule but the search is ramping up to decide who will be his successor on the sidelines in 2023.

The decision may take a few more months to be announced. Unless a convincing candidate emerges, the end of the MLS season and the FIFA World Cup will likely make a few more names available.

Here are some names to ponder about as the Dynamo continues its initial interview process:

Former MLS head coaches

Domènec Torrent

The former New York City FC head coach is available after falling out at Turkish giant Galatasaray earlier this year. The longtime assistant of Pep Guardiola at FC Barcelona, Bayern Munich, and Manchester City, Torrent spent a year and a half in the Big Apple after taking over for Patrick Vieira, who departed midway through the. 2018 season. While the team never won MLS Cup, it finished first in the East during Torrent's only complete year in 2019.  Yet the knock on those NYCFC teams, even under Vieira, was that they could not get past the Conference Semifinals stage in the MLS Cup Playoffs.

At this point, the Dynamo would take being one-and-done in the playoffs. The style of play is one that favored attacking players like David Villa and Heber. Valentin Castellanos also had his first season on loan under Torrent and, despite Torrent's departure, the eventual MLS Golden Boot winner had his contract option activated for the next season. How much say did Torrent have in that decision? If he had any input, that would be a really good sign for what Houston needs as a talent evaluator in its next head coach.

Jason Kreis

Another former NYCFC manager and current Inter Miami CF assistant, Jason Kreis is among the potential candidates with MLS head coaching experience. Kreis led Real Salt Lake to the 2009 MLS Cup and nearly a second in 2013, losing the final in PKs to Sporting KC. He was once regarded as one of the best MLS coaches, which led to his appointment as the first head coach for then-expansion side NYCFC.

After failing to make that season's playoffs, Kreis was out. He then took over at Orlando City midway through the following season, but made his exit after failing to get that team to the 2018 postseason. Kreis then took the helm of the U.S. U-23 squad but was not successful in qualifying for the Tokyo Olympics. He is currently with Inter Miami, appointed first as the Fort Lauderdale CF head coach in 2020 before moving up as an assistant with the first team. It seems he could be attained if the club wanted to go after him.

Chris Armas

Most recently an assistant coach at Manchester United under Ralf Rangnick during the 2021-22 season, Armas was previously unsuccessful in 2021 at Toronto FC. He was successful at the New York Red Bulls after taking over for Jesse Marsch, whom he served as an assistant for the two-and-a-half seasons prior, and helped complete the MLS Supporters' Shield conquest in 2018 with current Dynamo defender Tim Parker on that roster.

Overall, Armas has a less complete body of work but he's one of the options out there. Considering Pablo Mastroeni was the leading candidate of the last Dynamo coaching search, don't be surprised if they look at a similar profile coach.

Juan Carlos Osorio

This one may not be everyone's favorite, particularly if you are a Mexican national team fan, but JCO falls under available coaches with MLS experience. He ended, in part, the Dynamo's back-to-back championship run, as his Red Bulls team passed through Houston on the way to the 2008 MLS Cup final, won by the Crew in an all-East final. He then went on to win championships in his native Colombia with Once Caldas and Atletico Nacional, passing through Liga MX with a stint at Puebla in between. He coached Mexico at the 2018 FIFA World Cup, working with the Dynamo's Hector Herrera, where El Tri were victorious over Germany but then fell in the Round of 16 to Brazil.

Osorio is a well-educated coach and well-traveled, starting his career in the United States with a scholarship and then moving on to further his education in England. He has no lack of soccer knowledge and, from the perspective of having a coach that will fully immerse himself down to the Academy level, he may be the ideal fit for Dynamo FC. It's not the worse choice; it may actually be the best, considering what's out there and how JCO fits in with the qualities of this Houston team.

Dominic Kinnear

This choice would be purely sentimental and based on nostalgia. Dominic Kinnear has struggled as an MLS coach since leaving the Dynamo after the 2014 season. If he truly wants to continue being a head coach, don't be surprised if he throws his name in contention. Kinnear is currently an assistant coach at FC Cincinnati, which looks well on its way to its first playoff appearance. This wouldn't be a smart hire for the head coaching job, not in this era of MLS, but it will be a name that's thrown out there.

Other former MLS head coaches without a head coaching job: Preki (Sounders FC assistant), Marc Dos Santos (LAFC assistant), Veljko Paunović (free agent), Frank de Boer (free agent), Carl Robinson (free agent), Ben Olsen (free agent), Carlos de los Cobos (free agent).

Wild Card Candidates

Kenny Bundy

The current interim manager and head coach of Houston Dynamo 2 has put the first team in a position to succeed during his three matches in charge. Ultimately, he has not been able to make more with the current roster, plus it's a huge unknown to predict how he would fare with the true rigors of a full season. He has two more matches to stress why he should have an opportunity and may have Hector Herrera available. In all honesty, however, he should be a long shot for the first-team job. The club should keep Bundy with D2 and can groom him as a coach for the future while going with a more experienced candidate in the short term.

Caleb Porter

Caleb Porter has won two MLS Cups, one with the Portland Timbers in 2015 and another in 2020 with Columbus Crew SC, and an NCAA National Championship title with Akron, on top of coaching the U.S. Under-23 team from 2011 to 2012. Onstad has worked with him in Columbus and, if going after another team's coach is an option, then this may be a choice for the Dynamo GM. It's hard to see Porter leaving the Ohio-based club, unless his future depends on Crew SC making the playoffs this season.

Giovanni Savarese

If money is not an issue and negotiating with another MLS club for a head coach is an option, then Giovanni Savarese may be the best candidate to go after. The Venezuelan and his staff were signed to contract extensions after taking Timbers FC to the MLS Cup final in 2018. The Timbers were back in the final just last year but the lack of winning the title game could play against him, especially if his contract is running up. He did coach Portland to win the MLS is Back tournament and won three NASL championships with the New York Cosmos. If there is a changing of the guard in the Pacific Northwest, he's definitely a candidate to keep an eye on considering his experience.

Gerardo Martino

Speaking of the MLS Cup 2018 final, that was won by Gerardo Martino's Atlanta United. The Argentine is currently at the helm of the Mexican men's national team but has been rumored to be leaving his post after Qatar 2022. Boca Juniors is one of the clubs, he has been linked to but a move back to MLS may be appealing given the difference in pressure and quality of life. He would certainly be appealing to Dynamo fans, especially if he could bring about the type of players and playing style lived in the early years of the Atlanta club. 

Gregg Berhalter

Another Columbus link with Pat Onstad, who served as an assistant under Berhalter. If GGG is out of the U.S. men's national team post after the World Cup and is interested in returning immediately to MLS, he definitely checks the box for a coach with relative MLS success. Berhalter won his first championships as a coach with the U.S., leading the team to win the 2019-20 Concacaf Nations League and 2021 Concacaf Gold Cup. He has yet to win a trophy at the club level but did reach the 2015 MLS Cup final with Columbus.

Other wild card candidates: Hugo Perez (El Salvador men's national team coach), Luis Fernando Tena (Guatemala men's national team coach), Matias Almeyda (AEK Athens coach).

The Wishlist

Marcelo Bielsa

If money is no problem and a change in culture is truly desired, look no further than Marcelo Bielsa. Nicknamed El Loco (the crazy one), this Argentine manager is considered a genius of the game and one that immerses himself tenfold, demands commitment from his players, and isn't afraid of taking on difficult projects. He led Newell's and Velez to league titles in Argentina, led Argentina's Olympic team to gold at Athens 2004, and most recently helped Leeds United return to the Premier League by winning the 2019-20 EFL Championship. He is above all a teacher of the game and has coached some of the names on this list, like Gerardo Martino and Mauricio Pochettino. More importantly, for the data-driven Houston Dynamo, there is perhaps no one better with the usage of data, effectively, than El Loco.

All you need to see is his press conference when he was accused by Derby County of spying on their training and the presentation he gave to see his obsession with the game.

Mauricio Pochettino

Pochettino was most recently let go at Paris Saint-Germain and the likelihood of him coming to MLS at this point of his career is unlikely. That said he is best known for leading Tottenham Hotspur to the 2018–19 UEFA Champions League final as well as a second-place and two third-place finishes for the club in the Premier League. Before that, he was at La Liga's Espanyol and Premier League side Southampton, where he kept teams competitive in the overall standings.

Antonio Mohamed

A free agent and arguably a missed opportunity during the previous coaching search, Mohamed is a name familiar to followers of Mexican soccer. In 2010, he led Argentina side Independiente to the Copa Sudamericana before moving on to Liga MX and having success at three Liga MX clubs. He led relatively new club Tijuana to the Apertura 2012, Club América to the Apertura 2014 (as the club was searching for his replacement), and Monterrey to the Apertura 2019 title on top of two Copa MXs. He is another coach unafraid of failure, venturing to La Liga with Celta in 2018 and most recently to Brazil with Atlético Mineiro, where he won the Supercopa do Brasil and the Campeonato Mineiro.

Ricardo Ferretti

Another big name coach from Liga MX, Ricardo "Tuca" Ferretti can be as cool as they come or as critical, and sometimes controversial. After leading Chivas Guadalajara and Pumas UNAM to league titles in 1997 and 2009, respectively, the Brazilian is best known for his decade of success with Tigres UANL from 2011 to 2019. Five Liga MX championships during that span, a Concacaf Champions League title that led to a runner-up finish at the 2020 FIFA Club World Cup and a runner-up finish in the 2015 Copa Libertadores are the high points that stand out from Ferretti's time in northern Mexico.

One of his most famous viral moments comes from a training video, an intensity heavily needed in Dynamo training. Tuca was most recently at Juarez but could not bring the fast-paced results desired in the more compact and demanding Liga MX season. What could Ferretti do with the more patient MLS season? Maybe it's time to find out.