Riverhounds hire Lilley, replacing Brandt, forced out because of licensing requirements
- by Paul Kennedy @pkedit, Nov 14, 2017
Offseason USL coaching moves:
Pittsburgh: Out: Dave Brandt. In: Bob Lilley.
Rio Grande Valley FC: Out: Junior Gonzalez.
Rochester: Out: Bob Lilley.
Lilley, Christian Pulisic's godfather, spent six seasons with the Rhinos, winning the USL Cup in 2015. He began his coaching career in 1997 with the Hershey Wildcats in the A-League. He had later coached the Montreal Impact and Vancouver Whitecaps in the A-League and the indoor Detroit Ignition in the MISL. He won Coach of the Year honors with Hershey, Montreal and Detroit.
Lilley's departure from the Rhinos, who have struggled financially in recent years, comes amid speculation about their future. A club press conference is scheduled for Wednesday.
Brandt was hired by the Hounds partway through the 2016 season after a successful career at Division III power Messiah and Navy. In his first full season, Pittsburgh improved from 25 points in
2016 to 36 points in 2017.
“We are highly disappointed with this news, but understand the necessity to comply with the league’s decision,” Riverhounds owner Tuffy
Shallenberger said. “Dave has been nothing shy of first class since joining the organization. We are incredibly grateful for his contributions to the Riverhounds and has left the team in a
significantly better position than when he arrived.”
Absolutely makes no sense with all these stupid USSF licenses. So this guy has an Advanced National License with NSCAA, coached over 20 years, and was the winningest coach in NCAA and cant coach professional? Another dumb issue USSF needs to figure out.
United Soccer Coaches Advanced National License should certainly be equated wtih US Soccer A License for qualification purposes. That's something US Soccer needs to fix.
Very disappointing. More than qualified, who has moved the hounds forward. Quality individual too. Big loss for the organization.