The Houston Dynamo FC search for a head coach now has three intriguing candidates under consideration — Ben Olsen, Hugo Perez, and Juan Carlos Osorio, according to reports from MLSsoccer.com and The Athletic.
Sources tell me and @MLSist that the Houston Dynamo and former D.C. United manager Ben Olsen are engaged in discussions about Houston's head coaching job.
— Sam Stejskal (@samstejskal) October 24, 2022
One source described the talks as relatively far along: https://t.co/8909DK4DWk
The reports all originated on Monday afternoon when The Athletic's Sam Stejskal and Pablo Iglesias Maurer jointly reported the discussions between Houston Dynamo and former D.C. United manager Ben Olsen. The talks are "relatively far along" according to the outlet and Olsen was revealed to have also been a candidate last year, a search that ended with the hiring of Paulo Nagamura. KTMD 47 - Telemundo Houston Sports Anchor Ubaldo Martinez also reported the news locally citing sources from the club.
Reporting with @Dylan_Butler to add to this: Houston Dynamo had preliminary talks with Juan Carlos Osorio, per sources, but talks didn’t advance.
— Tom Bogert (@tombogert) October 24, 2022
JCO — former manager of Mexico, Paraguay, RBNY, Chicago Fire and more — hired as pundit by ESPN to cover World Cup from Qatar. https://t.co/16pNJw8gkl
MLS insider Tom Bogert added that Olsen has had an in-person interview and that El Salvador men's national team manager Hugo Perez has also been interviewed. Per additional reporting with Dylan Butler, the club has also shown interest in former Chicago Fire and New York Red Bulls coach Juan Carlos Osorio, most recently the coach of América de Cali, but "talks didn’t advance."
The Houston Dynamo coaching vacancy began on Sept. 5 when the club parted ways with Nagamura. The Striker has reached out to the club for an update on the coaching search.
Ben Olsen
With an overall record of 113-137-84 in the MLS regular season, Olsen was unable to match his success as a player from the coach's seat at D.C. United. He had six seasons with more wins than losses and his teams went one-and-done in the MLS Cup Playoffs on four of six trips to the postseason. In his later years, he was unable to make the most of having the likes of Wayne Rooney and Luciano Acosta on the roster. His only silverware in D.C. came by way of the 2013 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup.
| Year | Record (W-L-T) | MLS Cup Playoffs |
|---|---|---|
| 2010 (interim) | 3-8-1 | No |
| 2011 | 9-13-12 | No |
| 2012 | 17-10-7 | Yes |
| 2013 | 3-24-7 (last East) | No |
| 2014 | 17-9-8 (first East) | Yes |
| 2015 | 15-13-6 | Yes |
| 2016 | 11-10-13 | Yes |
| 2017 | 9-20-5 (last East) | No |
| 2018 | 14-11-9 | Yes |
| 2019 | 13-10-11 | Yes |
| 2020 | 2-9-5 | No |
• Playing for Nottingham Forest in the Championship
— The Coaches' Voice (@CoachesVoice) August 10, 2022
• No desire to become a coach while playing
• Going into management too early
• Finishing bottom but winning the Open Cup
• The @WayneRooney effect
Ben Olsen reflects on his time at his beloved @DCUnited... 🇺🇸📜
After retiring from his playing career, then Dynamo goalkeeper Pat Onstad joined Olsen's coaching staff in D.C. Onstad briefly came out of retirement during the 2011 season, due to injuries to the United goalkeepers, before returning to the sidelines for the 2011 and 2012 seasons. Now the Dynamo GM, Onstad could opt to hire the coach that gave him his start in coaching.
Hugo Perez
National Soccer Hall of Fame member Hugo Perez was a member of the U.S. men's national team at the 1994 FIFA World Cup, the 1991 Concacaf Gold Cup winning squad, and the 1984 Olympics team. He began his coaching career in 2002 and was appointed as the head coach of the El Salvador men's national team in April 2021.
The Salvadoran-born Perez stepped in to guide his birth nation to a quarter-finals appearance in the 2021 Concacaf Gold Cup before leading his country through the "octagonal" in World Cup qualifying. Despite a 2W-4D-8L record in La Selecta's Qatar 2022 ambitions, Perez has been applauded for getting the most out of a limited squad and with a national team that is always surrounded by controversy.
Hugo Perez returned El Salvador to the final round of World Cup qualification, had a great Gold Cup & put a project in motion. So what's next?
— Jon Arnold (@ArnoldcommaJon) June 15, 2022
Ahead of tonight's match v #USMNT we talked about motivation, striving for change & his future: https://t.co/Wh31vc9SnS
Dynamo midfielder Darwin Ceren has had some of his better games under Perez and Americans with Salvadoran roots like Sounders FC defender Alex Roldan have been recruited to strengthen the national team. It'll be interesting to see if the Dynamo can convince Perez to leave the current El Salvador project as the Central American nation looks to return to the World Cup in 2026.
Juan Carlos Osorio
Former Mexico men's national team manager Juan Carlos Osorio knows MLS well after taking the New York Red Bulls to the 2008 MLS Cup Final – ending the Dynamo's back-to-back title runs in the process. He has always expressed his love for the U.S., the country that started his coaching career, and it's not absurd to think he would make a return to soccer in the United States.
There is a fine line between genius and insanity and Juan Carlos Osorio proves it here.
— herculez gomez (@herculezg) October 21, 2022
Crazy story on how Mexico beat Germany in the World Cup. #FutbolAmericas #ElTriEng
Full 🎥 https://t.co/Kte9NUJwnR @ESPNPlus @SebiSalazarFUT pic.twitter.com/TJRvjIEfC1
JCO has been well-traveled after leaving MLS, winning titles in Colombia while also coaching in Mexico and Brazil. However people categorize his time with the Mexican national team, Osorio did deliver one of the most iconic wins for the program with a 1-0 win over defending champions Germany at Russia 2018.
Osorio recently joined ESPN as an analyst ahead of the 2022 FIFA World Cup. If he were to be considered for the Dynamo job, he would likely not be available until after the conclusion of the tournament in Qatar in mid-December.