OCB’s Pulis ready for new challenge
About a month ago,
phone rang with a question: Would you be interested in moving to Missouri?
He said yes, launching a weeks-long interview process that ended Monday night when Saint Louis FC of the United Soccer League announced Pulis as its new head coach.
Pulis and his wife spent the past six years in Orlando, and for their young children — ages 4 and 2 — it’s all they know.
He’s grown with Orlando City Soccer Club, first as a player from 2012-14 and then as coach of Orlando City B. But he wanted more. Managing OCB meant fielding a squad cobbled together each week with an unknown number of Major League Soccer players loaned down. It meant implementing Orlando City coach MLS strategy instead of his own so players would be ready when called up. And it meant focusing more on development than winning — although OCB did make the playoffs during its inaugural year.
“I was at the stage where I felt like I wanted a new challenge,” said Pulis, who leaves behind a 19-23-20 record over two seasons. “So the two avenues for me were progressing within Orlando’s organization as possibly a full-time MLS assistant coach — that obviously wasn’t going to happen for whatever reason — and then going to an independent team where I have to manage my own group of players, where we’re trying to win.
“Had a great time in Orlando, they’ve helped me develop; now it’s onward and upward, hopefully, from there.”
It is likely Saint Louis FC will get a few more Orlando City faces, too, as coaching staffs often stick together.
“I don’t really want to say too much on that,” Pulis said. “I’ve got an idea, but I can’t because there are people there who are technically still employed, so I can’t really say too much on that.”
No other coaches have announced their departure so far, according to Orlando City director of communications
Saint Louis FC ticked a lot of boxes for Pulis. In addition to being a standalone USL team that isn’t owned by an MLS club, it COMMENTARY has expansion ambitions, good infrastructure — a stadium and training facilities — a vibrant youth academy and a rich soccer history that appealed to Pulis.
He’s never spent more than a few days in Missouri and it may be nearly 1,000 miles away, cold and landlocked, but it could also be the perfect fit.
“The opportunity to coach my own team and put my own stamp on it was obviously massive for me,” said Pulis, 33. “They wanted an ambitious, hungry, driven coach who was going to galvanize the whole club. … And I think they wanted somebody to come in with fresh ideas, who was young and enthusiastic.
“They had somebody, their first coach, who was promoted from within the system, then they went out and got a big name in … And with all due respect, it didn’t work with either. So I think they kind of wanted to have somebody in between.”
During the interview process, he met with the St. Louis ownership group, general manager and president. He said he received a call about 10 days later saying he was among the final three in consideration and he got the official offer a few days later.
Pulis went to St. Louis earlier this week for the announcement and flew back to Orlando Tuesday. He’ll go back and forth the next two months before moving permanently.
His new team’s average attendance in 2017 was 4,571 — nearly four times that of OCB — according to Soccer Stadium Digest, and its ownership group is one of 12 that submitted MLS bids in January.
Independent teams lead attendance in USL, such as No. 1 Cincinnati’s 21,199 average and No. 2 Sacramento Republic FC’s 11,569. Both also submitted MLS bids.
Meanwhile, OCB and many other MLS-related teams — known as MLS2 teams in USL — struggle to draw fans and are rumored to have uncertain futures.
Orlando City vice president of communications
and Ramos both confirmed to the Sentinel the club remains committed to USL and OCB will compete in 2018.
Still, uncertainty beyond next season worried Pulis.
“One-hundred percent; I would be a liar if I said it wasn’t a concern,” Pulis said. “I’ve got a young family, a career to think about. To be honest with you … even if they guaranteed there was going to be a USL team here anyway, I was at a stage where I needed to look at how I could develop my coaching career.”
Since the announcement of Pulis’ departure, he said nearly everybody at the club has reached out to him and he’s received “some really, really nice messages,” especially from Kreis and general manager
who both supported him through the interview process.
He’ll never forget winning the 2013 USL championship as an Orlando City player, seeing Camping World Stadium full for the club’s MLS debut against New York City FC in 2015 or the day OCB made the playoffs in 2016.
“I’ve had a fantastic six years there,” Pulis said. “I’m really thankful and really grateful for everything they’ve provided for me.”