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For the last week, all the headlines around the Chicago Fire have surrounded the hiring of the new head coach and director of football, Gregg Berhalter. It’s easy to forget there’s still a game this weekend, and Frank Klopas will still be the coach.
Before Klopas bids farewell to the Fire’s head coaching role for the fourth (and seemingly final) time in his career, he held his last midweek press conference on Wednesday. He discussed a range of topics, including his role in the Berhalter hiring and his new position as vice president of football. In today’s notebook, we’ll run through what was said in his penultimate presser as head coach.
The Berhalter Pursuit
By the end of the process, the Fire’s pursuit of Gregg Berhalter was Major League Soccer’s worst-kept secret. Even prior to the Copa América disappointment that caused his USMNT firing, Berhalter was discussed behind the scenes in Chicago circles as a possible future Fire coach. So when U.S. Soccer did decide to swing the axe in July, the Fire moved in quickly, and Frank Klopas was a big part of that.
Several months ago, when outgoing sporting director Georg Heitz shared with Klopas that he intended to leave at the end of the season, he also discussed some possible options for who his successor would be. Berhalter was one of them.
“When he said Gregg, for me, it was a no-brainer,” Klopas said Wednesday. “I said, ‘let's go forward and do whatever we can.’ So I did whatever I could in the background, knowing that I'd been trying to transition to a different role for years with the club… I think with this opportunity, we couldn't pass it up.”
“And I knew one thing,” he added. “I could sell him as much as I could, but the minute he had the opportunity to meet our owner (Joe Mansueto), I knew that he would understand why this was such a great opportunity for him and for the club.”
Klopas had been right. His close relationship with Berhalter stretches back to their time as teammates on the 1995 Copa América roster, which certainly helped, but by all accounts, Mansueto was most heavily involved in hiring Berhalter. Even after the former U.S. manager interviewed with other MLS teams, including the San Jose Earthquakes, they got their guy.
Berhalter will take up a dual role as both director of football and head coach, something fairly rare in MLS at this point. He will not only run the day-to-day operations of the first team but also oversee transfers, scouting, and developmental teams. Klopas himself mentioned in an August interview with MIR97 Media that the dual role was something that would be “difficult” for one person to manage, but even still, he feels that Berhalter is the right guy to do it.
“He did that role when he was in Columbus,” Klopas said. “I think he's also matured also as a coach. His ability to handle different roles that have been asked of him, I think being in the national team and having the responsibility of developing a game model for the whole organization to make sure that everything runs properly not only with the first team but all the way down, whether it's the U-20s, the Olympic team.”
“He's been involved with that, but he also understands that you need to bring good people with you along the way. He's a smart person. I'm sure he has a lot of excellent people who want to join him and be a part of this great club because I believe that this club is right here and is ready to take off.”
VP of Football
Twice in the last two years has Klopas taken the Fire’s head coaching gig, and twice has he publicly said he hadn’t wanted to. For years, he has sought out a different role in the organization, and with the hiring of Berhalter, he finally has his wish.
Upon the conclusion of the regular season, Klopas will begin his new role as vice president of football, reporting directly to Berhalter. He will assist the new director of football, Berhalter, in a variety of tasks involving the first team, second team, and academy.
“It's not just one thing,” Klopas said. “I'll have a little bit of a hand everywhere, but my main focus will be there whatever Gregg needs to support him because I think our most important priority is getting the first time right.”
While Berhalter is already familiar with the Fire – he has lived in Chicago since 2018, attended several Fire practice sessions while with the national team, and has been around MLS for over a decade – it will also be of benefit to have a voice at the table who has been around the Fire organization for many years. Klopas will provide that support and promises to help Berhalter hit the ground running in what promises to be a chaotically busy winter period.
“This would be probably the most crucial offseason in the club's history, and I think we've started in a really positive way, but there's a lot, a lot of work left to be done, and I'm there to support Gregg, to support the club, to support Joe. There's a lot of good groundwork that's been laid there. There's so much potential for the club, and I think the last piece is just making the right decisions with the first team, and I think there's a huge opportunity to do so this offseason.”
One more to go
The Fire do still have to play a game against Nashville SC this weekend, but all that’s on the line is avoiding last place in the Eastern Conference. A win would secure a finish of at least 14th position on goal difference (potentially by just one goal). A draw would move the Fire to 14th if (or when) New England loses at Inter Miami. Finally, a loss (or draw if New England somehow wins at Miami) would sentence the Fire to their first last-place finish in almost a decade.
Berhalter has already met the team, but he won’t be on the sidelines this Saturday. Klopas says this week’s trainings have been good and not any different to the rest of the season, despite the low stakes and many roster uncertainties heading into 2025.
“It's different how everybody handles every situation,” Klopas said. “I think that every player is in a different position. Some guys' contracts are up. Some guys are on option years. How they process everything, I really haven't seen anything different. I think the trainings have been good. The trainings have been sharp.”
“(The players are) professionals. I know that some of them have some questions that need to be answered. We all know that. But I think we have to be professionals, and we have a commitment to the club and to ourselves to make sure that we do whatever we can every step we step on the field to present ourselves in the right way and do whatever we can to get the three points for the club. I think people understand that, in every season, that changes will be made, and I think for me, changes are always good. I think we finish the season, we reflect, and we all look to get better, and I think that's part of change.”
Goalkeeper Chris Brady praised Klopas’ commitment throughout his time with the club in his portion of the press conference.
“The biggest thing that stands out to me is that no one loves this club more than Frank,” Brady said. “You can say what you want about him, but no one has the type of passion and connection that he has to this club. I know he loves this club deeply, and he wants to see us go very far.”
“You see it when he’s walking around, like that's a part of who he is, is the Fire. That's the biggest thing that stood out for me with Frank: nobody who's been here or will be here loves this club more than him.”
