All has been quiet from the club with regards to anything related to the professional team. That, kinda, changed this morning, when Steven Goff of the Washington Post posted the following tweet.
@PghRiverhounds in 3rd-tier @USLPRO pursuing Navy’s Dave Brandt for coaching vacancy, multiple sources say. #Mids 26-8-6 in 2013-14
— Steven Goff (@SoccerInsider) November 6, 2014
Hmmm….
Before we get into Brandt’s resume (which, is nice) there a few things curious about this. The idea of a coach coming from the college ranks shouldn’t be too surprising. Dejan Kovacevic all but confirmed that was the team’s intentions a few weeks ago. Goff mentions multiple sources. How many sources could there be? I’m counting three, with an outside possibility of a fourth; the Riverhounds, Dave Brandt, some representative for Dave Brandt (Do D-I soccer coaches have agents?), and the US Naval Academy. Also, it’s important to note that the tweet never suggests that the team is close to actually signing Brandt, only that they are pursuing him. Big difference between the two. Finally, the timing is really interesting. The club has been more reclusive than North Korea since last season came to crashing halt. Yet, roughly 24 hours before the club’s reorganization plan could be approved by the bankruptcy court, this little kernel of info somehow finds its way into the wild. Amazing how these things happen, no?
As for Mr. Brandt, a very detailed career biography can be found at the Naval Academy’s athletic site. However, for the time poor reader, here are the cliff notes.
– Won six D-II national titles in 12 seasons at Messiah College, including three consecutive titles (04-06)
– Never finished worse than a second round exit in those 12 seasons
– A perfect 24-0-0 record in 2005
– Four time NSCAA “National Coach of the Year” award winner, the second most of all-time
– Fastest coach ever to 200 NCAA victories
– Last year, lead Navy to their first NCAA tournament since 1988 and first NCAA tournament victory since 1971
– 2013 Patriot League Coach of the Year
– Has a mustache
If this rumor turns out to be more than a rumor, don’t expect to hear too much until Navy’s season is over. The Midshipmen wrap-up regular season action tomorrow against Army at PPL Park, outside of Philadelphia. Navy currently sits in second place in the Patriot League and has qualified for the conference tournament, which will conclude on November 16. The NCAA tournament begins On November 20, with the 2014 College Cup Final scheduled for December 14.
#UNLEASH the rumors
Update: Both sides are denying and/or speaking in very broad terms…
