FOXBOROUGH, Mass. – Change was necessary. After a pair of heavy losses to the Philadelphia Union and Chicago Fire in a five-day span, that much was clear. New England Revolution president Brian Bilello knew it. General Manager Michael Burns knew it, too.
Even Brad Friedel, relieved of his duties as head coach of the Revolution on Thursday afternoon after an 18-month tenure, knew that something needed to change.
“Fortunately or unfortunately, we’re in this business of results matter,” said Mike Lapper, now interim head coach after serving as Friedel’s top assistant. “We knew that something had to change, and you can’t change everybody in the locker room.
“He understands. He’s a big boy. He’s been in that cutthroat business being in England and playing in the professional leagues. He gets it. I’m sure when it sinks in, he’ll be disappointed, but we’re all adults. We’re going to move on, and we’re going to do what’s best for the club.”
Moving on will come in waves. In the long-term, another search begins to install a permanent head coach, the eighth in club history. How that process unfolds will largely determine the direction of the club moving forward, and while the Revs want to move quickly to install stability in the locker room, they also don’t want to rush such a significant decision.
But in the more immediate future, New England’s staff and players need to internalize Thursday’s news and get themselves focused for a meeting with the San Jose Earthquakes, who’ll visit Gillette Stadium on Saturday night (7:30 p.m., NBC Sports Boston, 98.5 The Sports Hub).
“It’s a new beginning and it’s a new start,” said Lapper. “The fact that we have a home game and it’s going to be a big crowd, I think the energy levels will be picked up.”
Players echoed the sentiment that a coaching change offers a fresh start, and Burns acknowledged that the club needed to hit the reset button after a disappointing start to the 2019 season – on the heels of a disappointing second half of 2018 – left the Revs at the bottom of the East with a 2-8-2 record.
While a new head coach will bring a long-term vision, Burns believes that there’s enough time for a turnaround this season, which was a significant factor in the Revs’ decision to move on from Friedel just 12 games into the current campaign.
“Yesterday was a very difficult day for us and for the club,” Burns said. “In Brad’s time here, Brad gave everything he had. But the decision was made, what we felt was in the best interests of the club going forward.
“Having two-thirds of the season left, in this league, you lose a few games and you’re really down, but you win one, two or three games and you’re right back in the mix. We feel we have enough time left in this season to resurrect where we currently sit, and that’s the goal.”
That’s why the Revs will also look to install a new head coach “as soon as possible, without obviously rushing anything,” and Burns confirmed that he’ll be involved in the coaching search along with Bilello and Revolution investor/operators Robert and Jonathan Kraft.
Lapper, meanwhile, confirmed that he’d be interested in taking the job on full-time if presented that opportunity, and he’ll have his chance to prove that he can lead the charge beginning on Saturday night against San Jose.
“I’m going to do everything I can because my loyalty is to this club, and to get us where everyone wants to be,” said Lapper. “My hope is that the players use this as a catapult to just move forward and get the results, get the wins, and get this club where we really need to be and should be.”
