GM Tim Bezbatchenko backs Caleb Porter’s ability to make Columbus Crew contenders again in 2022
Jacob Myers
Following a disappointing season, there doesn’t seem to be any doubt in Crew president and general manager Tim Bezbatchenko’s mind that Caleb Porter is anything but secure in his position as coach.
Bezbatchenko said there would have to be a number of significant factors for Porter's job security to change. The expectation is, they will make the right moves this offseason for Porter to coach the Crew back into an MLS Cup contender in 2022.
“I think each period you go through of not getting results has specific factors," Bezbatchenko said. “I think it would have to be something that would amount to an aggregate ... but again that's speaking in hypotheticals.”
Caleb Porter has a proven record of contending for championships
Porter has never made the postseason in back-to-back seasons, but after he has a team that misses the playoffs, Porter has a clear track record of contending for a championship the very next year.
After missing the playoffs in 2014 after finishing first in the West with the Portland Timbers in 2013, he won MLS Cup in 2015. In 2017, following a disappointing 2016 season, Porter guided the Timbers to a first-place finish in the West again. Take 2020 as an example, too — missing the playoffs in 2019 with Columbus and winning MLS Cup the next year.
Bezbatchenko views this past season's six-game losing streak where the season fell apart the same way Porter does. He said the Crew should have gotten a few more points at the very least and that the poor performance was due to players out with injuries and international duty.
“I think it's important that we learn how to find some points where we're going through periods where we're lacking confidence,” Bezbatchenko said. "Caleb knows that, our coaching staff knows that, and our players know that. I do believe that that will not happen again because we will all commit to — myself included — to do a little bit more to make sure we can earn that draw, whether that's having a few more conversations or just addressing all the issues you have in the club a little bit sooner rather than saying we have an experienced team, and they'll kick on.”
Columbus Crew locker room trusts coach Caleb Porter
Bezbatchenko said that run of games wasn’t related to anything happening between players and Porter behind the scenes.
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"No, not tension between the players and the staff. Not at all,” he said. “I think it's more performances on the field more so than anything in the clubhouse and the locker room. Any time you go through a six-game losing streak or a number of games, you are going to have people who aren't happy. You want that. You want people to start to question each other and have hard conversations. And that's OK. Certainly, we did, but I wouldn't say it was any different than any other experiences I've had."
After the Crew lost their sixth straight game in August, Bezbatchenko voiced support for Porter and the players. Given that the Crew finished the year 7-4-2 in league play and won their first international trophy, the Campeones Cup, against Cruz Azul, it isn't hard to see why his confidence in Porter hasn't changed.
Just because Bezbatchenko sees the failings of 2021 as somewhat removed from the performance of the head coach, it doesn’t mean both he and Porter aren’t aware the Crew can’t have a similar spell next season.
“We've got to get one more win, two more wins, four points during that stretch, no matter who we have in,” Porter said. “But I'm not going to put myself through that same stretch again and make the same mistakes.”
Porter’s 35-35-23 regular-season record is practically the same points per game as predecessor Gregg Berhalter’s 37-35-30 record. The Crew didn’t qualify for the playoffs once under Berhalter compared to twice in three seasons with Porter. But Berhalter never won a title.
Regardless of the context, Porter and Bezbatchenko have been clear from the beginning that Crew club should be competing for championships every year.
"We want to be a leader in the conference,” Bezbatchenko said. “We don't want to just sneak in on the last day. That's not what our fans expect. That's not what we expect. And so next year and our efforts in the offseason will be put toward trying to achieve that objective.”