Ranking the San Jose Earthquakes head coaching candidates

After appearing outwardly moribund, the San Jose Earthquakes head coaching search as returned to the spotlight. Back when Matias Almeyda and his staff were let go in April, general manager Chris Leitch said that he was already putting together his short list of candidates to take over the job, and he was hoping to make a decision in the coming months. Well, we are reaching that timeframe, and thus the heat is back on for the GM to announce his decision. So who will it be?

When ESPN’s Jeff Carlisle dropped the bomb that Landon Donovan was in the mix for the job, the reaction was all over the place. Many Quakes fans will never forgive the forward for the way he engineered his way out of San Jose and landed with arch rivals LA Galaxy. Carlisle’s news opened up Pandora’s Box on the debate of what hiring Donovan would represent to the Earthquakes. It also prompted The Athletic to reveal other names on Leitch’s list: St. Louis City SC director of coaching John Hackworth, Seattle Sounders assistant Predrag “Preki” Radosavljević, Toronto FC assistant Ian Russell, and LAFC assistant Ante Razov. That’s a solid list of possibilities.

Of course, current interim head coach Alex Covelo is also a candidate, and given his recent run of form — good enough that if he’d been in charge from the beginning of the season, the Quakes would be in third place in the Western Conference (based on points per game) — a strong one at that. Covelo is getting to audition for the job in real time, and he has the trust of Leitch to do so. That interim tag could be scrubbed from his title and the team would be in good hands. Perhaps Leitch goes with the easiest decision and lets the Spaniard continue in the permanent role moving forward. Flesh out the coaching staff a bit more — there still isn’t a goalkeeping coach! — and continue the roster build as planned, and all is on track in San Jose.

But back to the list of reported candidates, and maybe one more, for good measure: Who is the best person to take over as new head coach of the San Jose Earthquakes if it’s not Covelo? Well, in order from worst to first, let’s take a look.

5. and 6. Ante Razov and Predrag “Preki” Radosavljević

Ante Razov and Predrag “Preki” Radosavljević share so many similarities that, while not whole interchangeable, hold a similar caliber as candidates.

Both Razov and Preki are top assistant coaches at two of the premier teams in the West, which instantly gives them credibility, but neither leaps off the page as the best the Quakes can get. The two players were in MLS from the beginning, Razov a draft pick with the LA Galaxy and Preki a seasoned professional with the Kansas City Wiz in the league’s inaugural 1996 season. Both men went on to illustrious careers, with Razov scoring over 100 goals in MLS and Preki earning league MVP honors twice, and each featured with the U.S. men’s national team. There’s no questioning their bona fides.

As coaches, Preki has the edge, with experience as head coach with Chivas USA and Toronto FC in MLS and Sacramento FC and Saint Louis FC in the lower divisions. His stays were all relatively short, and by some reports tumultuous, with his fiery personality both an asset and a liability. Razov has only been an assistant at the professional level, but he’s worked with many of the best head coaches MLS has even seen. He can also be quite intense, as has been seen in his current role with LAFC, but all accounts speak well of his intensity.

By no means are Razov and Preki second class candidates — they deserve their place on Leitch’s list — but in the rankings they sit at the bottom. Either would be a good hire for the Quakes, but perhaps not the best currently in consideration.

4. John Hackworth

John Hackworth probably has the most impressive coaching resume of any of the names on the list — scroll through it and you’ll find experience at the club and international level, with players up and down the age spectrum. He spent time as the head coach of the Philadelphia Union, prior to Jim Curtain taking over and turning that team into an Eastern Conference power, and guided second division side Louisville City FC to a USL title and a pair of runner-up finishes. His current role with St. Louis City FC has Hackworth preparing the club for its entry into MLS as an expansion team next season, a well as serving as head coach of the the club’s MLS Next Pro team. It’s probably because of that relative background role that he’s not been in the spotlight recently.

But that does not diminish his energy as a candidate for the Quakes job, and Leitch could do worse in selecting a person whose earned plenty of respect in U.S. coaching corners. In San Jose, it would be expected that Hackworth could use his experience to seamlessly integrate philosophies among every age level of the organization. In his work with the Union, he built a reputation in his ability to produce value out of its youth development system — a future priority for the Earthquakes. Hackworth is continuing that success in Saint Louis, as his MLS Next Pro team leads the Western Conference.

While Hackworth lacks the name recognition of the some of the other Quakes coaching candidates, and he doesn’t have a direct link to San Jose, his career trajectory makes him a solid choice for the job. If Leitch values experience over all other considerations, Hackworth would leap to no. 1 on the list.

3. Landon Donovan

Okay, raise your hand if you perked up at the news Landon Donovan had interviewed for the Quakes job. Perhaps the hair on the back of your neck stood on end, or maybe you screamed out a passionate “Make it happen!” instead. Whatever the reaction, that Donovan is in the mix is making headlines this week, and it’s prompting plenty of hot takes from all angles.

Donovan is certainly a name on the rise in U.S. soccer coaching. He’s currently orchestrating the goings on with San Diego Loyal in the USL Championship, where his team has found moderate success since its founding. The two-time MLS champion with the Earthquakes — and twice that many with the LA Galaxy — knows what it takes to be a winner on the field. But as a coach, he’s still getting his bearing sorted out, and that would mean the Quakes would be taking a chance on the legend’s emerging coaching philosophy. There’s no doubt he’s got the qualities to be a successful man manager, but does he have the tactical chops to make it at the MLS level?

Whereas Hackworth leads the pack in coaching acumen, Donovan tops the list in brand recognition, the “Wow!” factor. Love him or hate him, he would bring a spotlight back on San Jose that has been missing since Almeyda left. That’s definitely not the primary motivation in hiring a new head coach, which is why Donovan’s stock drops on this list.

2. Ian Russell

Of all the names reported by The Athletic, Ian Russell stands out, both for his coaching experience and his familiarity with the Quakes organization. In fact, among insiders, Russell was the first person considered as Almeyda’s replacement, and it came as a bit of a shock he’s not been mentioned more positively since. Perhaps he’s seen as the “safe pick” at this point — maybe the Quakes need to be more pragmatic following the circus that was the Almeyda era.

For nearly 20 years, Russell had some connection to San Jose, showcasing himself as a player in the championship years between 2000 and 2005, and then in the coaching ranks when the Quakes returned to the league in 2008. A loyal assistant coach to Frank Yallop and Dominic Kinnear, Russell was trusted to run many aspects of the team’s training sessions, and he contributed a lot of one-on-one support and guidance for players. He served as interim head coach ahead of Kinnear’s second stint in charge, and in 2017 took the reins of Reno 1868 FC, the Quakes USL affiliate. Russell served successfully in that role for the entirety of the club’s four-year existence, winning Coach of Year honors once and being named a finalist in two other seasons. When there was no room on Almeyda’s staff for him following Reno’s disbandment, Russell took on an assistant coaching role with Toronto FC.

Russell would provide some degree of continuity in the technical staff of the Earthquakes, second only to what making Covelo head coach would offer, despite his Toronto sojourn. In fact, his experience outside of the more recent daily operations in San Jose provides Russell with some valuable outsiders perspective, and it’s likely he was never out of contact with the club in that time. Leitch would know more about the benefits Russell can bring the Quakes than any of the other reported candidates. He’s a clear number one choice for San Jose, unless the final name in these rankings is offered the job.

1. Luchi Gonzalez

Top of the list has to be the one candidate that came to mind even before Almeyda was fired, and the one name not mentioned in many of the more recent reports, Luchi Gonzalez. The former FC Dallas Academy director and first team coach is currently an assistant coach with the U.S. Men’s National Team — and thus presumed to be busy helping Gregg Berhalter prepare the team ahead of the FIFA Men’s World Cup in November — but that shouldn’t necessarily rule him out as Leitch’s top target.

As mentioned, Gonzalez spent nearly six years as FC Dallas Academy director, from 2012 to 2018, where he oversaw one of the most productive youth development systems in the country. He was promoted to head coach of the first team and saw two straight playoff seasons in 2019 and 2020, before he was fired last September as FC Dallas slumped. He was replaced by Nico Estévez, who worked with Berhalter, essentially switching places with him on the national team staff. (Of note, current Austin FC head coach, Josh Wolff, is also part of the expanding Berhalter coaching tree in U.S. soccer.) Gonzalez has been in an assistant role throughout most of the World Cup qualifying process and now can look forward to the finals in Qatar.

But that shouldn’t stop the Quakes from tapping Gonzalez to be their new head coach. And they can even do so with an understanding that he wouldn’t need to take the full reins until after the World Cup is finished. Hire him now as a consultant, if you will, who can work with Leitch to make roster decisions and build out his coaching staff. Let Covelo and crew continue the season from the bench, guiding the team as currently composed and seeing how far they can take it. Maybe some or all of the staff gets retained with Gonzalez, while others can slide into other technical roles in the organization — Covelo still has his Director of Methodology credentials to lean on. Such an arrangement provides certainty now and moving forward, and a clear transition of leadership is established.

Gonzalez had a mixed record as head coach of FC Dallas, with a W-L-T mark of 28-26-32, but by all accounts he was respected communicator, especially with his younger charges. Dallas’s style of play was not too far afield from what the Quakes now do at times — lots of emphasis on possession as a way to dictate the pace of the game — and Gonzalez did a good job of integrating youth players into the first team squad. Getting some time under Berhalter and the national team program should only enhance his resume, especially when it comes to game preparation and the use of analytics. Add in the arcane stat that Gonzalez began his professional playing career with the Earthquakes — he was drafted out of college in the 2002 MLS SuperDraft — and he even ticks the box for “San Jose experience.”

It’s a bit odd that the name that should be at the top of Leitch’s coaching search list is also the one missing from the conversation, but Gonzalez simply makes the most sense for San Jose. The team and the organization are ready for what Gonzalez can offer.