If the doom and gloom of a cloudy Monday in Chicago was a downer, it probably didn’t feel that way for new Fire coach Ezra Hendrickson.
Hendrickson, 49, was formally introduced as the 10th head coach in Fire history during a news conference at the team’s downtown headquarters.
And while taking over the Fire will be his first top-flight head coaching role, Hendrickson is taking the sunny side to his new gig.
“There are always going to be detractors,” he said. “I don’t really focus too much on that. I’m a very positive guy. Maybe that’s from being Caribbean. We just have a positive attitude about ourselves. … Anyone who has seen me play, seen me work, worked with me, knows that I am ready.”
The Fire are hoping Hendrickson’s 25 years of experience in Major League Soccer as a player and assistant coach will help restore the team to its former glory.
Here’s what else was said Monday.
1. The biggest theme for the Fire in 2022 is ‘growing pains.’
After going 5-10-8 in 2020 and 9-18-7 in 2021, the Fire have a large hill to climb if they hope to return to the postseason for the first time since 2017, let alone win their first trophy since the 2006 U.S. Open Cup.
Hendrickson is well aware of that — and repeatedly referred to “growing pains” that will come as the Fire embark on yet another rebuild. Specifically, he wants to target what he called “leadership issues” on the roster.
“That’s one thing we need to improve because the team is so young with a lot of inexperienced guys,” Hendrickson said. “(We have) to make sure that we have a good mixture of experienced guys to help bring the team along because it’s going to be growing pains.
“We want to win every game, but it’s not going to happen that way. You need leaders in the locker room when things aren’t going so well that could lift guys up and say, ‘Hey, come on, let’s go.’ That’s something that we’ve been starting the process of looking at additional help to help the core guys that we have currently.”
Though he hit frequently on growing pains, Hendrickson is high on the Fire’s youthful core.
“A lot of people talk about the Phillys and the Dallases when they talk about homegrowns and having very good young players,” he said. “But I think this club is right up there with those clubs as far as that pathway of homegrown players coming through the first team. That was very attractive for me. I see a lot of potential, and it’s an opportunity that I wanted to take and go forward.”
2. Hendrickson learned from some of the best coaches in MLS.
Hendrickson won 15 major trophies as a player and assistant coach in various stops under Sigi Schmid (LA Galaxy, Columbus Crew, Seattle Sounders), Brian Schmetzer (Sounders) and Caleb Porter (Crew) — three of the league’s most successful coaches.
That type of guidance was one factor that made Hendrickson stand out to the Fire, and it’s something he will look to rely on.
“I’ll take a lot from each one of them, but it’s going to be what I’ve learned compounded with what I bring to the table as far as a coach and my style, my philosophy,” Hendrickson said. “I’m very grateful to have had those experiences and learn from some of the best and most productive coaches in this league.
“When you put that with my knowledge of the game and how I like to see the game played, it’s a good base and a good foundation for me to start this process and begin my new career as a head coach.”
Hendrickson cited Schmid as his biggest mentor. MLS named its coach of the year award after Schmid, who was a successful college coach at UCLA before winning two MLS Cups, three Supporters’ Shields and five U.S. Open Cups.
“One thing he always said was ‘fill the trophy case,'” Hendrickson said. “‘Wherever you go, fill the trophy case.’ And that’s something that I’m planning to do here in Chicago.”
3. Hendrickson’s lengthy MLS experience could help inform how the Fire build their 2022 roster.
The Fire parted with nine players a day after the regular season ended, opening the door to a second rebuild since the end of 2019.
Sporting director Georg Heitz and technical director Sebastian Pelzer, who joined the Fire in December 2019, will get a second crack at building a competitive roster after a quick turnaround entering the 2020 season.
Excluding homegrown signings, the Fire relied heavily on the international market in 2020 and 2021, signing 12 players from overseas compared with acquiring just four players already playing in the U.S. and Canada.
However, Heitz said the Fire’s commitment to signing homegrown players — they have inked eight since 2020 — is a sign the team isn’t eschewing domestic talent.
“When you see how many homegrowns we’ve signed, you see we have absolutely bet on domestic talent,” he said. “It’s just with all the regulations in this league it’s not so easy to get talents from other clubs that really help you get better. This is a problem that we have because it’s not a free market like in other leagues in this world.
“But we are open. It doesn’t matter where someone comes from, we want to have the best fits for our team. And if the best fit comes from competitors, then you try to get the best talent, but it’s not that easy.”
Knowledge of MLS — and specifically what it takes to win in MLS — was something the Fire targeted in their search to replace Raphael Wicky.
Hendrickson’s experience stood out and could be something the Fire rely on in 2022, but it won’t be the only factor.
“It’s going to be a collaborative effort once we get together,” Hendrickson said. “There are a lot of soccer minds here in Chicago currently, and with my experience and being around successful teams, I’ll bring that to the table. But it’s not going to be so much what I want to do, it’s going to be a collaborative effort. … I think we have enough talented soccer minds in this organization to make this team very formidable.”
