Jay Heaps has always been known as a fiery competitor as a player during his professional and collegiate career, and know has the opportunity to translate that as the new coach with the New England Revolution.
"When Michael and I were putting our list together, we knew that Jay was going to be one of the candidates," Revolution president Brian Bilello said. "We were confident that he had the makeup to be a great coach."
Even though Heaps' résumé lacks any MLS coaching experience, Bilello and general manager Michael Burns knew what to expect from him.
As a player, Heaps was known for his tenacity, leadership, and cerebral approach to the game during his 11-year career. But even without the vast coaching experience that so many clubs crave when making a managerial change, Heaps was the one to steer the team in the right direction, the Revolution braintrust believed.
"In our discussions with Jay, it became clear to us that he was ready to step in immediately and take the role," Bilello said. "Not only was he ready, but he was our top choice."
It would have been easy to go with a candidate who had a proven track record. But that's not the path Bilello and Burns wanted to pursue.
Instead, they were looking for someone to challenge the attitude of a club that needed a jolt of fresh energy,
"He is a tremendous leader and motivator," Bilello said. "He has a keen knowledge of what we need to do and what we need to excel at."
That, perhaps more than anything else, is what appealed to the Revolution -- Heaps' ability to diagnose a problem and offer solutions.
One of those problems, in Heaps' view, is that the Revolution suffered from inadequate game-day preparation.
"We're going to implement a game plan (every week)," Heaps said. "To see what advantages we can take from video (analysis) and impose our will on other teams. We will not be outworked and we will not be outsmarted."
From here, Heaps hits the ground running in searching for ways to improve the squad. With the expansion draft and re-entry draft on the horizon, Heaps will have a number of decisions to make about the roster.
"We're not thinking three to four years (into the future)," Heaps said. "We're thinking now. We're thinking how of we add the right players and right chemistry to build this team from day one."
Even though Heaps' résumé lacks any MLS coaching experience, Bilello and general manager Michael Burns knew what to expect from him.
As a player, Heaps was known for his tenacity, leadership, and cerebral approach to the game during his 11-year career. But even without the vast coaching experience that so many clubs crave when making a managerial change, Heaps was the one to steer the team in the right direction, the Revolution braintrust believed.
"In our discussions with Jay, it became clear to us that he was ready to step in immediately and take the role," Bilello said. "Not only was he ready, but he was our top choice."
It would have been easy to go with a candidate who had a proven track record. But that's not the path Bilello and Burns wanted to pursue.
Instead, they were looking for someone to challenge the attitude of a club that needed a jolt of fresh energy,
"He is a tremendous leader and motivator," Bilello said. "He has a keen knowledge of what we need to do and what we need to excel at."
That, perhaps more than anything else, is what appealed to the Revolution -- Heaps' ability to diagnose a problem and offer solutions.
One of those problems, in Heaps' view, is that the Revolution suffered from inadequate game-day preparation.
"We're going to implement a game plan (every week)," Heaps said. "To see what advantages we can take from video (analysis) and impose our will on other teams. We will not be outworked and we will not be outsmarted."
From here, Heaps hits the ground running in searching for ways to improve the squad. With the expansion draft and re-entry draft on the horizon, Heaps will have a number of decisions to make about the roster.
"We're not thinking three to four years (into the future)," Heaps said. "We're thinking now. We're thinking how of we add the right players and right chemistry to build this team from day one."
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