Brian Schmetzer making progress on new contract

The sting of his second career MLS Cup defeat remains fresh. Given a few days to consider his decisions, Brian Schmetzer now believes it might have been prudent to take a more defensive posture that would have likely meant starting Gustav Svensson and moving Cristian Roldan to the right midfield spot. He says he’s managed to rewatch the first half of the Seattle Sounders’ 3-0 loss to the Columbus Crew, and while Schmetzer admits these feel like “dark days” he at least doesn’t expect them to be his last.

“I can go on the record saying Garth and the Sounders have reached out to my agent and they’re having consistent conversations about making that happen,” Schmetzer told KJR about his potential contract extension. “I would love to be here, would love to continue this. The franchise have been a big part of my life, so I’m hopeful we can push something over the finish line.”

Pressed a bit harder, Schmetzer indicated some optimism.

“If I was a betting man, yeah something is going to get done,” he said. “There are certain things, I hope the assistants get taken care of and my deal gets pushed over the line. I hope to tell you [next year] that there were dark days in December and we’re looking forward.”

During end-of-season press availability, Sounders GM Garth Lagerwey echoed much of what Schmetzer said about being hopeful the two sides would come to an agreement.

“Brian and I are aligned,” Lagerwey said. “We want to bring Brian and his staff back. Spoke to his representative and hopefully we’ll get there.”