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The rumored hiring of Clint Mathis has finally become official today. This morning the Chicago Fire have announced that Clint Mathis has been the final hire by Frank Yallop to complete his technical staff.
At one point in time, Mathis was considered to be one of the best Americans playing the forward position. He played professionally for 12 years with most of his time being spent with the LA Galaxy or the New York Red Bulls (née MetroStars). He also has 46 caps with the U.S. Men's National Team. With both Frank Yallop and C.J. Brown being defenders during their playing careers, Mathis would bring an offensive mindset to the coaching staff.
Jeff Crandall has a write up on the Clint Mathis hire. In the article, Crandall explains how Mathis came in contact with Yallop and the Fire:
Technical Director Brian Bliss was taking in the proceedings prior to heading to the MLS Combine and went out to dinner one night with a host of former U.S. internationals. Mathis asked him straight up how Yallop’s search to complete his staff was going.
"I told him we had interviewed a few guys but didn’t have anyone locked down," Bliss said.
Showing the same sort of attacking courage he showed as a player, Mathis replied by saying, "Well you haven’t talked to me yet."
Things moved quickly from there.
Yeah, that sounds like Clint Mathis alright.
Crandall also has some other interesting bits in his article and is well worth a read. There is also a video interview with the new coach embedded in the article.
In my opinion, I think this is a solid hire by the Fire. Mathis could be really good at helping along younger players like Juan Luis Anangonó, Kellen Gulley, Harrison Shipp and Guiseppe Gentile. He might even be able to help Chris Rolfe get his groove back.
Thoughts about the Mathis hire? Please leave them in the comments below.
