Is Dean Smith on the shortlist for Coach of the Year?

By Brian Maurer

Dean Smith (Photo courtesy of Cisco's Art/TopBin90)

A debate is starting to heat up around MLS: Who are this year's Coach of the Year candidates?

Thoughts from an MLS pundit

J. Sam Jones wrote an article for MLS a few weeks ago highlighting his midseason shortlist of coaches who he thought were in line for the award. Dean Smith was on that list.

Jones' list

Pablo Mastroeni - Real Salt Lake

Dean Smith - Charlotte FC

Wilfried Nancy - Columbus Crew

Jones considered the top choices to be Smith and Mastroeni, saying, "They've taken teams on smaller budgets to places no one expected this year."

Thoughts from MLS Wrap-Up

In a recent segment by the MLS Wrap-Up crew, Andrew Wiebe, Bradley Wright-Phillips, and Sacha Kljestan provided their top five candidates:

Wiebe's list

Pat Noonan - FC Cincinnati

Wilfried Nancy - Columbus Crew

Gerardo Martino - Inter Miami

Steve Cherundolo - LAFC

Pablo Mastroeni - Real Salt Lake

Wiebe stated that he felt the Supporters' Shield contenders tend to win COTY because these coaches' teams display the most consistent winning form throughout the season.

Kljestan's list

Pat Noonan - FC Cincinnati

Chris Armas - Colorado Rapids

Dean Smith - Charlotte FC

Pablo Mastroeni - Real Salt Lake

Gerardo Martino - Inter Miami

Kljestan focused on coaches he felt were doing the most with the least for his COTY shortlist.

Wright-Phillips list

Wilfried Nancy - Columbus Crew

Pat Noonan - FC Cincinnati

Pablo Mastroeni - Real Salt Lake

Steve Cherundolo - LAFC

Gerardo Martino - Inter Miami

Wright-Phillips stated that he felt Nancy should win the award because of the position he has put the Crew in to win trophies over the past two years and their style of play.

All of the coaches these pundits mentioned have an argument for why they should be given the COTY Award.

Here is a breakdown of the two primary arguments and where each coach ranks in these arguments:

Consistent winning

Wilfried Nancy - Columbus Crew - Is in serious contention for the Supporters' Shield and defending MLS Champions. They also have the best goal differential in all of MLS, which supports them being one of the consistently best-performing teams this year.

Pat Noonan - FC Cincinnati - Defending Supporters' Shield winners and in contention to repeat for the title. The team has been battling multiple key losses throughout the campaign.

Gerardo Martino - Inter Miami - Currently leading the Supporters' Shield race. Has been able to guide the club with several key players missing for large portions of the season.

Steve Cherundolo - LAFC - Currently second in the Western Conference and is in contention for the Supporters' Shield. Led the team to the MLS Final last season.

Others worth mentioning: Greg Vanney (LA Galaxy), Pablo Mastroeni (Real Salt Lake)

Doing more with less

Pablo Mastroeni - Real Salt Lake - Mastroeni belongs in both arguments as he is getting more out of an already good team. The jump RSL has made in the rankings from 2023 to 2024 hasn't been massive, but it's the way they look. They have stood out as one of the more dominant teams in MLS, especially in the attack. Something that was not as consistent in 2023.

Chris Armas - Colorado Rapids - In his first season with the Rapids, Armas has taken the club from last in the West to fifth. He has already cleared the team's point tally from last season by 11 with nine games to play.

Dean Smith - Charlotte FC - In his first season in the Carolinas, Smith moved Charlotte up three spots comfortably, with limited roster changes and only one Designated Player currently on the roster.

Others worth mentioning: Phil Neville (Portland Timbers)

Summary

There is still plenty of season to go, and the month break for the Leagues Cup with the Summer Transfer Window could easily shake things up. As things stand, Charlotte's Smith looks like a potential Coach of the Year candidate, especially after the club's two most recent performances.