Fox Sports soccer analyst Alexi Lalas led the charge when it came to the recent firing of USMNT head coach Gregg Berhalter, ripping him numerous times after the team’s disappointing performance in the Copa América tournament. And recently, Lalas has even thrown his own hat in the mix to potentially replace Berhalter, which he continued to do on Tuesday.
Lalas shared on social media on Tuesday that if offered, taking the job would be an easy decision.
“Absolutely,” replied Lalas. “It would be my honor, pleasure, and duty. Not only that, I would do it for free.”
This falls in line with previous comments from Lalas.
When asked earlier this month by Jason McIntyre whether he has any interest in the USMNT coaching job, Lalas definitively answered that he “would do it in a second” and that they “should be so lucky” to have him as their head coach.
“I would do it in a second,” Lalas replied to McIntyre. “Hell yeah! They should be so lucky to have someone like me leading this team!”
The difference, of course, is that those comments were made before Berhalter was even fired. Now that he’s gone, the feeling hasn’t changed.
It’s perhaps not a huge shock to hear Lalas expressing this much interest in the position. As a standout defender on the USMNT for the 1992 and 1996 Olympic Games as well as the 1994 FIFA World Cup, it’s quite natural for him to want to continue his legacy as a coach of the team.
That being said, Lalas very clearly lacks a lot of the qualifications that surely come with getting the USMNT coaching job. After his playing career was done, he decided to pursue front-office opportunities in the MLS with the San Jose Earthquakes, New York Red Bulls, and LA Galaxy, instead of going into coaching.
Regardless, we’ve seen others instances in sports where former players with no coaching experience end up getting coaching jobs. Just look at the Los Angeles Lakers hiring of former ESPN broadcaster JJ Redick. So crazier things have certainly happened…