These should be happy days for Sigi Schmid, says Steve Davis, given that the Columbus Crew coach is just 90 minutes from lifting his second MLS Cup. But for the second time in his career, Schmid is finding that success is not necessarily enough to secure him a new contract

It would be ironic if Schmid, out of contract at the end of this season, finds himself on the move again even as he takes "a second swig from the MLS Cup in the very backyard of the organization that once pushed him into oncoming traffic." The Crew's failure to offer Schmid an early contract extension may end up coinciding with Seattle's "dawdling on making its all-important initial managerial hire."

Davis has a theory that too many MLS team executives think that success is a "candy grab," and that all it takes to win MLS Cup is a nifty coaching change. It was this delusion that caused L.A. to fire Schmid in 2004 when the team was top of the standings, "which ultimately proved to be the genesis of the Galaxy's spectacular implosion." This "wrongheaded illusion of fast-track success has similarly removed other MLS executives from their good senses," leading to Bruce Arena's sacking from NY and Steve Morrow's dismissal from Dallas before they had the chance to make things work.

Which is why, Davis says, Crew owner the Hunt Sports Group should have approached Schmid, at the latest, the day after his team beat New England 4-0 in early September and "hog-tied the man and refused to let him leave until he promised to stay for three to five more years."

 

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