San Jose Earthquakes President Tom Fox and General Manager Jesse Fioranelli spoke to assembled media Tuesday morning to explain the club’s decision to fire head coach Mikael Stahre after a 5-1 loss to Sporting Kansas City.
The Quakes remain rock-bottom of the table and exhibited no sign of improvement under Stahre, yet Fioranelli was still reluctant to let go of his hire. “Frankly, we came to this conclusion without wanting to come to this conclusion because Mikael was a coach that we like as a person and we like as a coach,” he said. “We have to be angry with ourselves for having come to this point. I am angry with myself as well.”
Fioranelli revealed few concrete details about the decision process, leaving Fox to step in to explain why they made the call just two days ahead of a home match against the best team in MLS, Atlanta United.
“It wasn’t any one particular event, it certainly wasn’t just the game the other night,” he said. “It was the fact that we realized we have six games left in the season and there’s an opportunity to start to understand what we have and take a different look at the squad for next year. The timing of these things is never easy or ideal but we just thought it was best to make the break right now.”
Fioranelli described the decision as a “sobering” experience, while Fox offered an equally bracing message for the club’s fanbase: lower your expectations.
“The challenge for us all year has been trying to manage expectations,” he said. “Making the playoffs last year was a bit of a false dawn. Everybody thought, “Ok, we’ve been here, now we’re on our way,” and [Jesse and I] didn’t believe there was a straight line between where we’ve been for nine or ten seasons to ultimately where we want to go. It would be great if it started and progressed and everything moved on that trajectory, but we knew that we still weren’t yet done with the squad.”
Those measly expectations contrast sharply with the “strong message” that Fioranelli promised to send when he took over as GM in 2017, a retreat that should concern Quakes supporters. Stahre’s sacking was an obviously – and overdue – step, but the Quakes need to hold themselves to a higher standard to effect change within the organization.
Assistant Coach Steve Ralston will take charge of the squad for the remaining six matches of the season and, at this point, he says his goal is simply to avoid finishing last-place.
“There will be changes, for sure,” Ralston told media after team training. “What’s the definition of insanity? We’ve got to make changes and give other guys opportunities. We’ve got to look forward to next season and see if some players are going to want to be back here.”
Fioranelli said it was a “no-brainer” to appoint Ralston as interim manager, but declined to address speculation regarding a full-time replacement. “We didn’t come in with a plan,” said the GM, so at this juncture, he wants to keep his options open as to a full-time replacement.
