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Revolution sporting director Curt Onalfo explained the decision to fire Caleb Porter
Onalfo also provided an answer when asked why he should keep his job following Porter's dismissal.
A day after the struggling Revolution announced that the club had fired head coach Caleb Porter, sporting director Curt Onalfo spoke to reporters at a press conference to provide context for the decision and address the future of the team.
New England remains in 11th place in the Eastern Conference, a position that the club has occupied for much of the season. While not technically eliminated from postseason contention, the Revolution’s playoff hopes essentially exist in name only at this point (trailing ninth-placed Chicago by 10 points with four games remaining).
Onalfo, who was named sporting director in Nov. 2023 after four years as technical director and helped oversee the hiring of Porter, said that the lack of success at Gillette Stadium — New England is 3-9-3 at home in 2025 — precipitated the move.
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“In my time with Caleb, I gave him the support and everything possible for him to succeed,” Onalfo explained of the now-former Revolution head coach. “I also had conviction about us still being a team that wasn’t good enough at home. That is still the point of emphasis, and a big reason for the change.”
Simultaneous to the questions about who will become the team’s next head coach are ongoing questions about Onalfo’s future with the club. Having also presided over the club’s struggles in the last two seasons (albeit from the front office), Onalfo’s continued role amid two losing seasons has been questioned by fans.
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In late July, the Revolution supporters’ group known as “The Rebellion” (one of the club’s two official supporters’ groups) released a statement calling for both Porter and Onalfo to be fired.
“It’s time to bring the fight back to the Revolution and give the dedicated supporters something to cheer for — and no longer be embarrassed about,” concluded the Rebellion’s statement.
But with Porter removed due to two years of substandard results, what is Onalfo’s explanation for remaining in his role?
“That’s a question for other people,” Onalfo said when asked why he should be allowed to continue in his current job. “I would say that at each [transfer] window, we’ve assembled better players.”
“This past window, we added Matt Turner, best goalkeeper in the league, who was bought for $8 million and we got him for free,” Onalfo continued, referencing the recent loan move for the U.S. international. “So for me, that’s my job. Those are the things I can control, and do whatever I can to support the coach and be successful.”
One of the questions that will likely loom for the remaining four games of the season is what exactly club president Brian Bilello thinks about Onalfo’s future, as well as the opinions of team ownership.
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Has Onalfo had discussions about his future?
“Again, I’m the sporting director of this team until I’m not,” he told Sam Lattof of The Blazing Musket. “My focus is being steady — I’ve been through a lot in my life, this not the most difficult thing that I’ve dealt with in my life — and it’s easy for people on the outside to point the finger and say what they would do.
“And that’s all part of it, and that’s the way it should be, because it’s professional athletics,” Onalfo added. “But I’m very optimistic about the roster and this club and where we’re going. When it turns, it turns. So I steadfastly believe in our future.”
As for the search for the next head coach, which formally began on Monday following Porter’s dismissal, Onalfo initially provided only a terse profile for what he’s looking for.
“He needs to know how to win at home,” he said.
Eventually, Onalfo offered a little more on the subject.
“We’re going to spend an enormous amount of time profiling, getting [to] exactly our credentials in terms of what we want, and characteristics for our next head coach,” he explained. “So with time we’ll come up with that. One thing I will say: I’m very confident that there are good candidates out there and we’ll find a good coach for us.”
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In the meantime, the Revolution will play out the four games left on the schedule with former assistant Pablo Moreira in the role of interim head coach. New England faces the Union in Philadelphia on Saturday at 2:30 p.m.
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