Earnie Stewart Is Changing U.S. Soccer
Changing organizational culture takes time, and more than that it takes a very particular expertise. The task ahead of newly installed U.S. Soccer General Manager Earnie Stewart is as much a corporate overhaul as it is an on-field soccer project; and while the soccer public’s attention is fixated on the next coaching hire, and player selection, the ethos Stewart creates within the United States Men’s National Team as a organization — from the Development Academies to the senior team — is arguably more important.

At this point walking through what went wrong in the Klinsmann era is heavily trodden ground, but it’s worth noting that there is near consensus that the contentious — perhaps even toxic — culture in the dressing room, as well as the boardroom, catalyzed the eventual fall.
Stewart has spoken relatively infrequently about his new role, but his on-the-record comments as well as his actions reveal a number of things about the culture he intendeds to foster within Men’s National Team enterprise.
In a June 6th sit down, Stewart tipped his hand on a number of key issues.
“Process” being chief among his talking points, Stewart laid out a very deliberative approach to answering style of play questions, an ideal fit for the next permanent head coach, player development, and senior team selection.
While his predecessor was never mentioned, the interview transcript reads like a direct rebuttal to the previous regime’s ad hoc style.
Stewart intends to be slow, measured, and above all principled as GM. He has developed a reputation over stops at three Dutch clubs and with Philadelphia Union for being meticulously informed and as a data driven decision maker.
All of which in theory lends itself quite well to the current state of international soccer. However, the challenge of operationalizing a “moneyball” culture across a vast, and often chaotic, federation under the most pressure it’s ever felt will be far greater than within a single club.
Back to the coaching search as a case in point: as the U.S. prepares for friendlies against Brazil and Mexico the speculation, and frustration, around the lack of a permanent coaching hire has reached new levels. Stewart has reportedly not even began interviews, and is said to be still consulting with people inside U.S. Soccer, former players, and trusted confidants he’s developed over the course of his career.
Meanwhile, Juan Carlos Osorio, the former Mexico coach and heavily rumored USMNT prospect, has landed in Paraguay for the 2020 cycle. Tata Martino, of Argentina fame and Atlanta United success has said on the record and off that he’s not interested in the job.
Perhaps, as has been speculated, this is because all signs point to current Columbus Crew SC coach Gregg Berhalter getting the job, either way it’s an immediate test of Stewart’s ability to implement a process — not a personality — oriented decision; which is clearly what he wants his early hallmark to be.
This is no small shift.
Heretofore, the modern version of U.S. Soccer has not been a process driven organization. Dating back to Bora Milutinovic a singular personality has shaped the entire pursuit. There have been no guardrails or signposts defining American soccer at the international level — just Bora, Steve, Bob, Bruce, Jurgen, and Bruce (again).
At times that’s meant relative success, but more often it’s meant middling and inconsistent play and unclear direction at every level of the development pyramid.
Stewart’s ideas, then, represent a tectonic reshaping of what’s been the modus operandi of the world’s most disappointing soccer nation.
