Toronto FC fires GM Payne after 10 months
TORONTO — Tim Leiweke does not want to be general manager.
That is something Leiweke, the president and chief executive officer of Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment, has said twice now. He said it back in May when he decided Bryan Colangelo would no longer be general manager of the Toronto Raptors — that was back before Leiweke had even officially started on the job. And he said it again Thursday, minutes after he finished explaining the firing of Toronto FC’s president and general manager, Kevin Payne, who did not last 10 months on the job.
In his declarative moment, Leiweke adopted the royal we, to include ownership. “We don’t, and I don’t, want to be the GM,” Leiweke said. “We don’t have time for that. We will be involved in the (acquisition of designated players).”
Leiweke went on to list what he is looking for in a new general manager, and the responsibilities the new person will have. Primarily, he wants a person who understands the machinations of Major League Soccer’s salary cap, with the ability to “exploit” it as it relates to the financial situation of other teams. Leiweke also wants the new GM to accept Ryan Nelsen as the team’s head coach.
In other words: the new general manager will be responsible for the small things that will go unnoticed by casual sports fans in the city. Leiweke will be responsible for the things that will make headlines. Through his highprofile firings, and even through the contract extension given to Maple Leafs general manager Dave Nonis when he still had three years left on his contract, Leiweke wants to make one thing clear: He might not be the general manager of any of MLSE’s teams, but all of those teams are being run in the manner he sees fit.