Columbus Crew coach poaching
Is the picture below the last post-game photo of Wilfried Nancy as Crew coach?
L'Equipe, the venerable French newspaper dedicated to sports, on Tuesday joined the pack of news organizations throwing fuel on the conflagration that rages around the recruitment of Columbus Crew coach Wilfried Nancy.
From L'Equipe: "Wilfried Nancy is in very advanced negotiations with Celtic FC to replace Brendan Rodgers. The Scottish club must agree with the Columbus Crew to buy back the last year of the French coach's contract."
I've pored through all the reports (see below), made some phone calls and cogitated. Here is what seems clear:
This will get done. Wilfried Nancy will be the next coach of Celtic FC, which has the power, prestige and money to whip this deal down the stretch.
Dermot Desmond, principal owner of Celtic, wants Nancy. Desmond's head of football operations, Paul Tisdale, seems to be the one pushing for Nancy. Desmond has clearly bought in and Desmond is a George Steinbrenner-like operator of a storied franchise – what he wants, he gets.
Nancy wants to coach Celtic. Why? For the challenge, and for career advancement. Celtic is a storied club. Celtic compete for the Scottish League Cup, the Scottish Cup and in UEFA Champions League every year. This would be a huge step up in pay and prestige for Nancy, 48, who is has little left to prove in MLS and is at the stage in his life and career to blaze a new trail.
François Verdenet
Nancy made history as the first Black coach to win MLS Cup (2023). I think he always knew that, as talented as he may be – and he's the best coach in North America – top-flight European teams wouldn't be beating down his door – in part because of the color of his skin. To be the second Black coach (England legend John Barnes was the first in 1999) for a franchise with the cache of Celtic will resonate. It is something Nancy will embrace with pride and a terrific sense of responsibility.
Since the summer of 2024 – at which point the Crew were defending MLS Cup champions, CONCACAF Champions Cup finalists and Leagues Cup titleists – Crew fans had to know that Nancy's days in Columbus were numbered.
The number is up. By the end of this week, Nancy will be named the next Celtic FC coach. He will then take 18 months to convert the doubters in Glasgow. Anyone who thinks that his possession-based system won't work in the Scottish Premiership, who aren't ready to back a Frenchman, or a Black coach ... Nancy will show them the light.
Nancy will be in place with Celtic by the start of next week. He will take assistant Kwame Ampadu and probably someone else – the video coach? – with him.
Crew assistant Yoann Damet will be the in-house favorite to replace Nancy.
Nancy will succeed with Celtic and, in 18 months, the English Premier League or Ligue 1 will come calling. And then Celtic fans will be having the same discussion Crew fans are having right now.
According to reports ...
According to multiple reports, Nancy on Friday flew across the pond to London to meet with Desmond and other Celtic officials.
The former Celtic coach, Brendan Rodgers, abruptly resigned three weeks ago; he wasn't getting on well with Desmond and the Celtic board. Currently, Celtic is being run on an interim basis by a semi-retired club legend, Martin O'Neill, 73, who coached Celtic to continental prominence in the early 2000s.
As of lunchtime Tuesday, a Crew spokesperson has described Columbus' official position in three points:
- Nancy remains under contract (through 2026).
- The Crew have not been contacted by Celtic.
- Nancy continues to work with GM Issa Tall on plans for the next MLS season.
Smoke clouds the scene.
The Crew were eliminated from Round One of the MLS Cup playoffs with a Game 3 loss in Cincinnati on Nov. 8. There followed a week of exit meetings and coaches' meetings. Per the usual, the following week – this week – is an off week for all coaches and players.
Somebody from Celtic contacted the Crew. Likely, the contact was made at the highest level of the organizations' charts – one billionaire to another. Jimmy Haslam made his fortune off of a company his father built, Pilot Flying J truck stops, which paid tens of millions in fines after the FBI uncovered the company's scheme to defraud trucking companies. Desmond has built a business empire that includes sports gambling. They're like brothers!
Props to the reporters in Europe, especially those in Scotland, who've been well ahead of the story. The following nuggets are the product of their toil. Among the news outlets from which the bullet points below were gleaned: The Herald of Scotland, Glasgow Times, Daily Record, 67 Hail Hail, The Guardian, BBC, Sky Sports, Football Insider and, of course, L'Equipe.
- Tisdale appears to be the Celtic insider who put Nancy's name forward in Glasgow. Tisdal and Ampadu worked together at Exeter City. Tisdale has worked with Ampadu's son, Ethan, who now plays for Leeds United.
- Nancy's salary at Celtic, if and when he takes the job, is projected to be in the range of $2 million annually.
- It may take $1 million to $2 million for Desmond to buy out the final year of Nancy's Crew contract. Although Haslam Sports Group, the majority owner of the Crew, have a reputation for being prickly negotiators, except when it comes to giving a guaranteed $230 million to a serial sex offender. That said, a couple mill 'tis but a trifle for Desmond and Celtic. Put another way: If Desmond wants Nancy, he'll get him.
Michael Arace
- One report had Nancy taking Crew DP forward Diego Rossi to Glasgow. That sounds like click bait to me. Horse hockey.
- Another report said that Celtic has had interest in Crew forward Jacen Russell-Rowe. Could be. Alistair Johnston – whose career was re-launched by Nancy in Montreal, and who is thriving at right back for Celtic – is, like Russell-Rowe, a Canadian international. Johnston is a huge fan of Nancy.
- There are reports that Desmond is pushing the hiring process to get Nancy in by Friday, when Celtic's Annual General Meeting will be held. There are reports that Desmond wants Nancy in by Saturday, when Celtic plays its first game post-international-break (at St Mirren).
- Further, there are reports that the Nancy hire doesn't have to be rushed. O'Neill, the interim manager, has won three of four since stepping in for Rodgers. There has been talk about leaving O'Neill in place at least through the weekend – or maybe longer, if that's what it takes.
Get it done
Nothing is done until all the paperwork is signed, of course, but Nancy's ticket appears to be punched for Celtic. The timing is good for him, technically speaking: Without star Cucho Hernandez, who was sold to Spain's Real Betis in February, or holding midfielder Darlington Nagbe, the legend who recently retired, Nancy's system in Columbus has lost two crucial pieces that made it hum. It's a good time to get out, and get paid.
For the sake of the Crew and their fans, the best-case scenario is that this is done ASAP.
Tall has a lot of work to do in terms of recruiting and roster decisions and it's critical that he have a coach in place throughout the process.
Tall has a preferred in-house candidate, Yoann Damet, who may or may not be part of the Scottish migration. Tall is likely to look without the organization, as well.
In any case, Columbus needs resolution.
An earlier version of this article failed to take into account that Barnes was the first Black coach at Celtic. Thanks to @Strathcarnage.bsky.social for the correction.
Thanks for reading. If you're enjoying what you see and you are of a mind, click on the link below and leave a tip. If you've yet to subscribe, consider making a small hop over a paywall. It'll help keep local, independent media disrespected. Have a nice day.
Michael Arace
