Steady progress in his three seasons as New England head coach — culminating with an appearance in last year’s MLS Cup final — has earned Jay Heaps a contract extension, the Boston Globe reported Thursday.

According to multiplesources, the extension was negotiated in December shortly after the Revs qualified for the championship game, which it lost to the Galaxy, 2-1, in extra time at StubHub Center. New England team policyforbids announcement of coaching hires and other contract matters, and team officials refused to comment.

The Revs reached four MLS Cups (2002, 2005, 2006, 2007) during Heaps’ playingcareer, which ended with his retirement after the 2009 season. After working as the Revs’ color commentator and venturing into the financial services world, Heaps replaced Steve Nicolafter the 2011 season ended with a 5-16-13 record. His record at the helm is 48-50-28.

New England finished second in the Eastern Conference last yearat 17-13-4 and in the playoffs rolled past Columbus and the Red Bulls to reach their fifth MLS Cup final. In 2015, the Revs are 8-9-7 and tied for fourth place. They have recovered from a five-gamelosing streak to win twice and tie once in their last three games.

Heaps is the sixth head coach in the team’s 20-year history, of which volatility was the norm in the early years.Frank Stapleton, Thomas Rongen, Walter Zenga and Fernando Clavijo held the job before Nicol, who had a two-game stint as interim coach in 1999, took over in 2002.

The timing of the Globe story is fortuitous. Saturday is Jay Heaps Bobblehead Night. (For the record the bobblehead is adorned in a shirt and tie, not a Revs jersey.)

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