Despite saying repeatedly that Ben Olsen was not a candidate to become D.C. United’s permanent coach after he was handed the job on an interim basis last summer, the team scheduled a news conference Monday to announce it will go forward with Olsen in 2011, according to sources close to the team.
United went 3-8-1 over the final 12 games of the 2010 regular season with Olsen in charge after Curt Onalfo was fired in August following a 3-12-3 record in a half-season with the team. Olsen took over despite only a half-season of coaching experience himself following his retirement as a player in 2009.
United president Kevin Payne said Olsen was not a candidate for the job when the coaching change was made, and he maintained that position at the end of the year.
“Ben will have his opportunity at some point, but I really want him to have his chance to be very, very successful when he starts,” Payne said in October. “That’s not to say he couldn’t be successful now, but the likelihood is less than if he gets more experience and has a chance to learn more about the profession of coaching.”
Olsen never directly expressed his desire to take the job on a permanent basis, but he also hasn’t ruled it out.
“It wasn’t necessarily fun,” Olsen said after D.C. United’s final game of the year. “But I think I’ve grown a lot as a person in this short span, dealing with some of this stuff, and I think I’ve grown as a coach.”
