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Sporting KC actually burned it all down
Frustrated sports fans are always asking their team to ‘burn it all down’. But Sporting KC actually did it. Now what?
After a rough opener to the 2026 MLS season, the Shades of Blue podcast is discussing just how massive of a rebuild Sporting KC are attempting. They’ve made much needed changes at every level of the organization, and now here we sit.
In a pile of ashes.
The results hadn’t been there for years. Fans were lethargic, angry, and cancelling tickets. Once the toast of the league, Sporting KC had slowly fallen from glory. It was time for wholesale changes.
Every fan, in every sport, has called for their team to “burn it all down” at least once in their life. It’s one of sports’ greatest pastimes!
They say things like, “Fire everyone!” or “Sell the team!” or “Pulido killed my club.”
We’ve all been there.
But now, they’ve actually gone and done it. Sporting KC burned it all down in order to start anew.
They’re attempting what may be the most comprehensive rebuild in the history of professional sports. Let’s break down the changes.
- New majority Owner
- New President of Soccer Operations/General Manager
- New Sporting Director
- New Head Coach plus his entire coaching staff,** except Roger Espinoza, who started last year.
- ALL new coaching staff for SKCII
- Only four players on the roster played for this team just two years ago
Absolutely everything looks different at this club. From the players on the field, to the coaches on the sideline, and even the suits up in the suites.
Has a team in the NBA, MLB, or NFL ever come even close this much turnover?
If you felt the owners weren’t spending enough money, they got a new owner. They were too entrenched with Peter Vermes? He’s gone. Three whole entire people replaced him, bringing a hierarchy and accountability to the front office. An old regime of aging players making too much money? They’re all gone. Stephen Afrifa is the third most tenured player on the team!
There is an exception to all this, of course. Sporting KC President & CEO Jake Reid persists. He’s been the target of criticism and plenty of fans point their finger at him as one of many issues plaguing the club.
But to be fair, somebody had to keep the lights on around here. Reid just recently won MLS Executive of the Year, the guy wasn’t going anywhere.
So okay… they couldn’t get rid of quite literally everybody. But this level of turnover in all areas of a club is truly unprecedented.
Moving on from Vermes was always going to leave them in a hole. Yes, it’s going to be a long rebuild process. Seemingly all indications point towards another rough season ahead.
But this is what Sporting KC needed. This is what we all wanted.
It felt like there was no plan, no direction, no way back. So, they burned it all down and now they’ve got a clean slate. There are new faces and fresh eyes eager to make an impact every where you look. And if any of them don’t work out? Making a change is much easier.
Sporting KC as an organization is in a better position today than they were one year ago.
That may be a sad point on which to cling after all the years of success at this club, but it’s the reality.
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** Assistant Coach Ash Wallace moved up to the first team staff from SKCII last year.
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I agree we needed massive turnover. And we got massive turnover. The majority owner may be new, but the managing owner is still Mike Illig, so while the checks might possibly be getting bigger for outlays, the guy everyone is reporting to is still the same one who has fostered this utter lack of accountability over the last several years. “He aint Robb” is what I’m trying to say.
Fact is, though, that we dont even have a whole team. They burned it down, and then didnt even bother to lay the foundation before the season started. We are pretty much guaranteed that the next 6 months or so are going to be really darn bleak unless we get crazy good injury luck (already isn’t happening) or Wicky proves to be a magician.
The vibes were legit optimistic after it was obvious that a full teardown was happening. Then week after week after week of no coach and no signings happened. Now some signings have happened, but we still dont even have a compliant roster.
They burned it to ash, and yet it still feels half baked.
I always get voted down, and could care less. I am glad to see the major overhaul. I am skeptical of the results. Throwing a team together with a new manager just a couple of weeks before the preseason is not ideal. We will see what comes.
I’m glad that we are finally passed Peter Vermes. He should’ve been gone long before he was. I’ve lost track. Is this the 2.0 version, the 3.0 version, or more than that.
Please keep the down votes coming.
I like this take. SKC are basically an expansion team at this point, except without the usual benefits of an expansion draft or other soft on-ramps, and without the enthusiasm of shiny-new-toy syndrome. I guess they could “budget” the money they didn’t have to spend on an expansion fee or new stadium and invest that in the roster…
Would have been nice to see the same type of clean slate at the academy level. The culture there seems to be an issue and it would be great to loosen the reigns to have another MLS Next team in the area (St Louis has 3, KC has 1).
How is that? Teams can have more than 1?
They don’t have to be associated to a MLS club. For example, in St. Louis, there is a youth club called St. Louis Scott Gallagher that has one
Are you thinking of MLS Next Pro while SKCFAN is referring to MLS Next Academy? The latter is much looser: just by name alone the St. Louis area has four: https://www.mlssoccer.com/mlsnext/academy-division/members
Yes, yes I was. He said MLS NEXT and I assumed the “minor league”.
This is actually the list:
https://www.mlssoccer.com/mlsnext/about/homegrown-division
It’s the “homegrown” division, not the academy division which is lower and generally considered lower than ECNL.
In this Missouri/Kansas area there are 4 teams:
STL: St. Louis City SC, St. Louis Scott Gallagher, Lou Fusz Athletic
KC: Sporting Kansas City (general located at Swope Soccer Village)
These are the 4 teams in a 5 state area including Missouri, Kansas, Iowa, Arkansas and Nebraska.
What I hear is Sporting KC has sway other other clubs starting homegrown teams in the KC area. It is also a very expensive proposition since the players don’t pay to play in general
Just to be clear, no serious fan, ever, is asking for it all to be burned down. They are asking for it to be rebuilt, and improved. That means subtraction, yes, but also addition. The frustration of SKC fans right now is that the pace of the improvement has stalled on the subtraction phase. SKC was not the only club in MLS that was down to bare bones numbers after this offseason. Check the pure numbers on Miami. Who did a better job of bringing in the coach, and the players? Now, we are not Miami, but we’re not nothing. There was a clear lack of urgency in this process. It is frustrating.
I dunno, I’m still willing to give it time. As someone with a side interest in public policy, it often annoys me to see the media/public insisting that we “do something!” about a given problem when the seemingly quick and feel-good policies are rarely the right or best ones. So I have an ingrained tolerance for the “take your time and do it right” approach.
And are you seriously suggesting that Miami was “down to bare bones” this offseason? In a comparable way to SKC? Uh huh.