The Chicago Fire didn't make the playoffs in 2011, but the team's strong finish to the regular season has interim head coach Frank Klopas looking like a good candidate to keep the coaching job, reports David Gubala. No decision has been made yet, but Klopas, also the team's Technical Director, does plan on being with the club in 2012, whether as the head coach or in another role.

"I'll be back somewhere," said Klopas. "When I stepped in, I definitely said that we're going to do this until the end of the season and sit down at the end of the season. Now that the season is done, I'm going to enjoy this moment with my players and in the next couple of weeks we're going to sit down as an organization and make the best decision going forward for the Fire. ...

"It's a group decision, it's not only me. There are a lot of people that are involved such as Mr. Javier Leon [Managing Director], Mike Jeffries [Director of Player Personnel], and myself. We're going to evaluate and right now I think there are a lot of positives with this group. The way we finished the second half of the season, the way the team has come together, some of the additions we made late in the season have been very positive and definitely we can build on this."

The Chicago Fire finished off 2011 with an 8-5-10 record under Klopas, improving from a 1-4-6 in the first half of the season with Carlos de los Cobos still in charge.