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In every level of sports, there are head coaches who are, for lack of a better word, curmudgeons.
They are the Bill Belichicks, Nick Sabans, Gregg Popovichs, Sir Alex Fergusons, and to a much lesser, but more hilarious extent, the Bryan Prices of the world. They despise routine meetings with the media on the best of days and revile it on the worst.
It isn’t a critique on their performance, as most of those above – aside from Price – were excellent managers. Yet, they very much dislike having to explain or appease the media as a part of their job, even if it is a significant part of it.
In MLS, that man is Peter Vermes.
Vermes has generally experienced substantial success in MLS, including one MLS Cup, three U.S. Open Cups and 12 trips to the postseason. But, let’s face it, the man does not enjoy news conferences. Here’s just one bit of evidence:
Vermes isn’t alone in this regard and he certainly had a few challengers this season. Los Angeles FC’s Steve Cherundolo got fined $10,000 for blasting MLS for keeping the infamous snow game on as scheduled against RSL. Wilfred Nancy, is typically cool, calm, collected and generous with his time with the media, but even he had a rant levelled at referees this season.
Yet, in part three of the GOAL’s Alternate MLS Awards, we take a look at one man who stood out the most among cantankerous managers this season…
Tom Hindle: Caleb Porter, New England Revolution
Caleb Porter has gone on a fair few rants over the years. This writer was fortunate enough to be there for one after a Portland loss to D.C. United, and it was glorious.
This one New England press conference after drawing to St. Louis has a real gusto to it. The art here is that Porter alternates between asking “what is happening?” and outright statements such as “this is a joke.” Throw in a classic “I don’t care if I get fined”, and it’s just pure angry coach perfection. Gorgeous.
https://twitter.com/i/status/1832619607963718134
Jacob Schneider: Porter
Here’s just one example: Porter snapped at a local media member for asking a very normal question during a press conference in May.
I asked Caleb Porter what Dave Romney would have to do in order to return to the #NERevs starting XI after failing to receive a start in more than a month. Here is my back and forth with the head coach pic.twitter.com/7dBTfKwQgD
— Sam Minton (@Sam_Minton22) May 19, 2024
