DC United parts ways with long time coach Ben Olson in the middle of dreadful season

Erik
2020-10-08T23:06:36Z

WaPo: https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/2020/10/08/ben-olsen-fired/

Olsen has been a fixture in D.C. United for over two decades. First as a player and then as the longest serving coach in the franchise's history. In fact, in all Washington sports, only legendary football coach Joe Gibbs had a longer stay at one team.

Yet, he's always been a bit of an anomaly for such a long tenured coach. He never won the league championship, and only one piece of hardware (the somewhat obscure U.S. Open Cup, a tournament competition open to all professional and amateur soccer sides in the country) during his tenure. But he was known for his gritty game style that squeezed a lot of value out of one the most poorly funded rosters in the league for the decade he was at the helm.

But the last year has been especially bad. After the departure of soccer superstar Wayne Rooney, the front office struggled to fill the big shoes left behind and the wheels began to really come off. The team is currently sitting with just two wins. While some of that can be ascribed to a slew of injuries, United has played matches missing 8 of what would likely be their starting 11 this year, Olsen has been seen on thin ice for a while for not being able to get beyond the occasional playoff appearance.

It's kind of a mixed feeling among the fanbase, many of whom knew that it was time for the club to move on from Olsen, but at the same time he is a legend to the club for his long time involvement and glory days as a player. Still, some loyalists say the front office has dug their own graves with this move, as Benny was probably one of the only people in the world willing to coach the squad given how little the front office spends on its roster. Now they may be out of excuses as to why the wins aren't coming.

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