Chicago Fire: Hiring Frank Klopas clever business

This week, the Chicago Fire hired club legend Frank Klopas as an assistant coach. After a turbulent offseason, it is a very clever piece of business.

Frank Klopas became the latest addition to the Chicago Fire backroom staff on Tuesday afternoon, as the club confirmed he had been named as an assistant coach ahead of the upcoming season. Although the decision might not have too much of an impact in the grand scheme of things, it was still a clever bit of business.

First things first, the news brought some good press with it, which was something the Chicago Fire desperately needed at this point in time.

It has been far from smooth sailing for new owner Joe Mansueto since he took over. The club rebrand was disastrous, to say the least — a large chunk of fans are still calling for the old logo to return months after the move. Chicago made a coaching change as well, and even though Raphael Wicky seems promising, he is still an unknown commodity. Then there’s general manager Nelson Rodriguez, who is somehow still in a job despite all the mistakes he’s made in the past.

That doesn’t even take the roster into account. The Chicago Fire have let several players go and still haven’t replaced them. All three Designated Player slots are available, and while the club has been linked with some major players, it is unclear who exactly will be coming in by the time the regular season starts back up in March. Supporters were starting to panic, and were practically begging for some good news. With the announcement of Klopas’ return to the sidelines, they got just that.

Simply put, Klopas is a Chicago Fire legend. Joining the Fire in their inaugural season, the United States international was a key player during the team’s first few seasons. He helped Chicago pull off the double in 1998, winning both MLS Cup and the U.S. Open Cup, where he scored the winning goal in overtime of the final.

He would become head coach about a decade later. It wasn’t the most successful tenure, but Klopas had the Fire fighting for a playoff spot during his time. He wasn’t blessed with the most stacked roster either, having to make do with the little money he was given by then-owner, Andrew Hauptmann.

After stepping down, Klopas got to showcase his coaching ability with the Montreal Impact. Working under more supportive management, he did remarkably well up north early on, leading the team to the CONCACAF Champions League final, where the Impact were narrowly defeated by Club America. Things eventually fell apart, but at least we’ll always have the GIF of him thrusting towards an official after Montreal scored late on in an important game.

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Klopas would be involved with the Men In Red once again soon after as he became a commentator for the team’s broadcasts on various different channels. Alongside Dan Kelly, he was a popular analyst, bringing valuable experience and knowledge of the game to those watching at home.

Since he has been around for so long and has never really done anything wrong, Klopas has become a fan favorite amongst the Fire community. The reaction to him becoming assistant coach was overwhelmingly positive. Twitter was full of tweets approving the decision.

He’s still got plenty to offer as well. Since Chicago is a club in transition, bringing in Klopas will help smooth things over during the process. He knows all about the Fire’s history, and how much the team means to the Windy City.

With all the different names joining the staff in recent weeks, Klopas can serve as a guide to help them get used to their new surroundings. There are different rules and regulations in MLS compared to the rest of the world, and some simply fail to acclimate in time. With Klopas there, the likes of Wicky and new sporting director Georg Heitz will have someone to turn to in times of need.

It may not be the most impactful move the Fire could have made, but bringing in Klopas as an assistant coach may turn out to be a really smart call by a front office that desperately needs to get things right. Now fans will have to hope this is just the start of things to come for Chicago.