The Dynamo Way. It’s a term that’s become a part of the vernacular of the Houston Dynamo in the years under manager Dominic Kinnear – an abstract term meant to aggregate the traits that have led to the club's success: fitness, toughness and a contempt for losing, among others.
If you’re a coach looking to succeed Kinnear, who's departing the club at season's end, you'd better have a good grasp of it.
“From a coaching perspective, we want someone who’s got head coaching experience, someone who’s got a proven track record as a head coach that’s going to understand the 'Dynamo Way' and play the Dynamo way,” Houston president Chris Canetti explained at a Tuesday press conference. “It's someone who’s going to understand our culture and bring a real positive energy, and someone who’s got a very diverse background and has established their technical philosophies from around the globe.
“When we go out and hire a coach we’ll specifically make sure that coach can play the 'Dynamo Way'. If the two don’t match up, it won’t be a good fit.”
But what specifically is the Dynamo Way?
“I think that’s been partially established. We’ve sat down with Brian [Ching], Eddie [Robinson] and Wade [Barrett] and others from the past and asked ‘What’s the Dynamo Way? Let’s think about it,'” Canetti said. “We know we’re a hard-nosed group of players and a team others don’t like to play against.
“As we get a general manager in here we’ll refine and refresh that a little bit and round out what is the basis of being the Dynamo Way.”
Canetti’s comments confirm that the club is not looking to divorce itself from the past, and the track record of results support that decision. They're characteristics that have produced two MLS Cups and four conference titles.
But the Dynamo are also looking to freshen things up with their new hires – a technical director comes first – while holding on to their tradition. Whether adding new aspects of sports science and analytics to the mix or revamping the player development system, there are areas for growth.
Canetti, who said he has a personal list of fewer than five head coaching candidates, confirmed that the club will interview assistant coaches Wade Barrett, Steve Ralston and Tim Hanley as well as seek out other candidates from within MLS and outside the league.
The new general manager will also be part of that process together with club stalwarts like Brian Ching, who Canetti says will likely meet with any candidate for the position, in addition to other select squad players.
The Dynamo say they will not rush the decision process, but Canetti indicates the club’s goal is to have a new coach by the Expansion Draft on Dec. 10.
“Over nine years we’ve really identified a good recipe for success,” Canetti said. “There’s lots of things about this club that represent the 'Dynamo Way' and we’re not looking to change them. We don’t want to break any of that down. Then the question becomes 'How do we expand and add and move to the next level?'”
Darrell Lovell covers the Houston Dynamo for MLSsoccer.com.
