Report: Former New York City FC Boss Jason Kreis In “Advanced Talks” To Become Next Orlando City Head Coach

According to FourFourTwo.com’s Paul Tenorio, Orlando City is in “advanced talks” to sign former New York City FC and Real Salt Lake boss Jason Kreis as the club’s next head coach. The move would bring Orlando City’s coaching search to a close following the dismissal of Adrian Heath nearly two weeks ago.

Kreis is seen as one of the best American coaches around today, and has been as a potential favorite to land the available head coaching seat in Atlanta, where United will join the league next season. But if Kreis wasn’t looking for another expansion job, he could have waited out to see what happens in Seattle, or even on the international stage with the U.S. Men’s National Team, to name a couple of possibilities.

He’s been out of work — in MLS, at least — since last fall, when NYCFC let him go after one season, in which he went 10-17-7 and failed to make the playoffs in the club’s expansion season. And, after joining the USMNT as an assistant in January's camp, he could be entering a similar situation in Orlando, where expectations from ownership are high with the pressure to win soon.

Kreis made his mark with RSL from 2007-2013, where he helped turn the small market team into a perennial MLS Cup contender, claiming the Cup in 2009, and then falling a couple of penalty kicks short of winning it in all again in 2013, before he left for the lucrative opportunity in New York City. He’s well known for his 4-4-2 diamond midfield, which of course differs from the 4-2-3-1 style that Orlando City normally played under Heath, but in time, he could prove to have the right personnel to pull it off in Orlando.

While there’s been plenty of speculation about who Orlando City might be looking at for the club's next head coach, the potential hiring of Kreis lines right up with the team's desire to be a championship contender for years to come.