The odd and unwieldy committee responsible for FC Dallas personnel decisions in the Schellas Hyndman era has apparently died a merciful death.
A more or less official committee of up to five people, led by Hyndman and technical director Fernando Clavijo but also including front office higher-ups like former president Doug Quinn and others, had put heads together to make the choices over the last two or three years. That meant deciding on incoming and outgoing personnel, trades, waivers, length of contracts, etc.
It was never a good way to do business. In all honesty, five people can barely decide where to go for lunch. Someone wants Chipotle … but someone else is in the mood for Tex-Mex … and someone else is on a diet and needs a healthy salad and so on.
How is that possibly ever going to be a recipe for getting the personnel mix right in Major League Soccer?
From what I gather, it’s now on new manager Oscar Pareja and Clavijo, which is how it should be, of course.
Front office types should sell tickets, market, chase sponsorships, etc. Team staff should handle team matters. Period.
If owners want to get involved once money becomes an issue – Maurice Edu’s ongoing acquisition kerfuffle in Philadelphia being the perfect example – then that’s certainly fair. Otherwise, they should probably keep safe distance, too.
In Dallas, that will be incoming president Dan Hunt, who had been increasingly invested in the club’s day-to-day operation anyway once Quinn left last year. Will it all mean better for FC Dallas, which hasn’t won a playoff game since upsetting Los Angeles in the 2010 Western Conference final?
It certainly cannot hurt. Dysfunctional team hierarchy will almost always lead to competitive issues. See Chivas USA and Toronto FC as the best examples. (Well, and Dallas, too.) Vancouver and Colorado are now on watch, as well, following recent fumbles and stumbles with coaches.
Pareja, by the way, has some time to get it right – but not much. A source told me his deal with Dallas is for two years, plus two one-year options.