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Buried in Jeffrey Carlisle's story on ESPN about FC Dallas focusing on Guillermo Barros Schelotto for their vacant head coaching position is a nugget Seattle Sounders fans should take some interest in: assistant coach Brian Schmetzer is among those who have already interviewed for the position.
This shouldn't necessarily come as a surprise, as Schmetzer is among the most qualified assistants in the league. Not only has he been a key component on Sigi Schmid's staff -- handling much of the preparation for upcoming opponents -- but he was also among the USL's most successful coaches before making the move with the Sounders to MLS. It was also confirmed that Schmetzer interviewed for the Montreal Impact job before the 2012 season, a position that ultimately went to Jesse Marsch.
Similar to the situation with the Impact -- where Schmetzer knows Sporting Director Nick De Santis -- it appears personal connections may be playing a part in Dallas' interest as well. One of Schmetzer's first assistant coaching jobs was with the Seattle SeaDogs of the Continental Indoor Soccer League, working under current Dallas Technical Director Fernando Clavijo.
Schmetzer, who played for the NASL Sounders as well as several other Puget Sound-based teams, coached the USL Sounders from 2002-08 and won a pair of league titles, as well as two Commissioner's Cups.
