The Pittsburgh Riverhounds have formally introduced their new head coach. The team announced early Sunday morning that Dave Brandt would take over the vacant spot after Mark Steffens was relieved of his duties after Saturday’s 2-1 victory over Toronto FC II.
The Riverhounds held a press conference on Monday afternoon to introduce Brandt. Brandt talked about his coaching experience, how he met Riverhounds owner Tuffy Shallenberger and how he came to coaching the Riverhounds.
Brandt admitted that he talked to Shallenberger on May 15, after the Riverhounds 1-0 loss against FC Cincinnati on May 14. As for his first interaction with Shallenberger, Brandt said that he first talked to him around the time Niko Katic became the interim head coach about two years ago. Eventually, Steffens would be under contract to be the Riverhounds coach for the rest of that season, the next season and the beginning of this season.
“We talked at that point,” Brandt said. “It wasn’t quite right at that point in time, so we parted ways. But, that was around two years ago, so that was our first interaction. And then, honestly, it’s not like there was interaction between, but are we familiar with each other, and do we know each other and have a little bit of a basis? Yes.”
Shallenberger admitted that the Riverhounds 2-0 loss to the Lansdowne Bhoys FC in the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup was the final straw and that a change was needed. Brandt said that Shallenberger sent him a text late on the evening of the loss (Wednesday, May 18) asking Brandt to meet with him the following day. The meeting occurred between the two and Brandt made his decision on Saturday morning, before the Riverhounds faced Toronto FC II.
Brandt, who first started his career as a coach at Messiah College from 1997-2008 and then was the head coach at the United States Naval Academy since 2009, called the past few days a “whirlwind.”
“I don’t know that I’ve had a crazier three days in my life, and I’m old enough to have some life before me, so I’ve had some experiences,” Brandt said, with a laugh. “It’s absolutely insane, but I think in a good way for me, and I’ll obviously let you all ask questions and that should be the major part of this. But, for me, my experience at the Naval Academy was life impacting without a doubt. Really difficult to leave, but at the same time, a city like Pittsburgh – an unbelievable sports town – I haven’t lived here, but I know enough to know that.”
Brandt said that having the opportunity to the pro game, which he said is “booming” in the United States right now, was an opportunity he couldn’t turn down. Brandt said that he is thrilled to be in Pittsburgh.
Brandt, who had his first practice with the team on Monday, said he met the team Sunday night, as he drove from Annapolis, Md. to meet the team. He said that he wanted to connect with the team before he jumped into practice with them, but that he was aware of the time constraints.
“But the reality is we play on Saturday and there’s 22 games left – I think, if I counted right – and 66 points still on table,” Brandt said. “There’s just an awful lot of season left, but we don’t have time to waste. So, training this morning was important, and it’s one of a number – five probably – training sessions, chances we have before Saturday and it was important to hit the ground running. You had this situation where I’m new to them, they’re new to me. We need to figure each other out and that sort of thing.”
As for his tactics that he’ll run with his new players, Brandt said he is going to change things up significantly from how Steffens ran the team. More specifically, he called it being “a notch under [a] huge [change].”
“I’m one of those coaches, very definitively, I have a vision,” Brandt said. “And I told them what that means is that I know what I want it to look like. That’s important and I know in athletics there’s talent grabbing, putting them out and saying, see what happens. And then for me, I’m always to trying to make the whole greater than the sum of the parts.”
“So, for me, it’s a little bit about – maybe a lot more – than just grabbing talent and grabbing players,” Brandt continued. “Talent matters, it is important. At the same time, the structure of what we’re doing, the team agreements – this vision I have, both on and off the field – is what I’m most passionate about and that’s what we begun starting to work on this morning.”
Brandt said he has watched the Riverhounds before, and has recently caught up with this season. He said he has possibly seen six of the Riverhounds matches this season. That means that Brandt has seen events like Romeo Parkes’ kick and being kicked off the team, Marshall Hollingsworth’s concussion and the change of goalkeepers of benching Hunter Gilstrap for Mauricio Vargas.
When it comes to decisions on the roster, Brandt said he needs some time to look at the roster, watch his players in practice and in matches, and learn the team.
“It’s early for me to comment on that,” Brandt said, with a laugh. “I can honestly say I’ve been here for less than 24 hours, so I’m asking for a 24-hour pass. After 24 hours, I have to answer the hard questions.”
As for his personnel, the Riverhounds made a few changes. Josh Rife, an assistant coach, left the team when Steffens was relieved of his duties. Sticking around was Niko Katic, who will still serve as an assistant head coach. The Riverhounds have announced they are looking for another assistant coach to help out Brandt and Katic.
“I think – I’ve been here a short time, as you know and already there has been numerous conversations involving, to be honest, at least four people,” Brandt admitted. “I see that as a pretty collaborative effort, and I work comfortably that way. There’s a couple things that are on the front burner here. One is there is a team here now that plays on Saturday. So, that’s on the front burner – it’s who preparing them, making the adjustments we need to make.”
Brandt will have his first test this Saturday, as the Riverhounds travel up to New York to face the New York Red Bulls II. The last time the two teams met this season, which was the match where Parkes kicked Karl Ouimette in the lower back, the Red Bulls II claimed a 3-1 victory. The match will begin at 10 p.m. and can be viewed on the USL’s official YouTube page. The Riverhounds next home match will be on June 4 against the Charleston Battery.
Photo by Rachael McKriger
