I wrote this for CBC a few weeks back. It published less than a week before Toronto FC would hire new president Kevin Payne. In the original article I made the case why TFC needed to ensure that the hire was going to be independent of the wishes and desires of the current brass.
Since, I’ve been looking for indication if that has been the case. Here are a few things that could suggest Paul Mariner was caught unaware by the Kevin Payne hiring.
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First, understand that for those that were following this hiring closely, Payne’s name largely came out of left field. For most of November, Peter Wilt was the name that was being bandied about. A number of the press here had spoken to Wilt already on a couple of occasions and he confirmed that TFC had indeed approached him with interest. For what it’s worth, it’s believed that Wilt was the one who largely turned down the offer – explaining that what they were looking for did not match his skill set.
Around this time, Nov. 21 to be exact (the same day the CBC article went to print) the Toronto soccer media received this email from TFC’s PR:
--Sent: Wednesday, November 21, 2012 4:05 PM
Subject: Meeting
Hello everyone,
I’d like to send this as an invitation to come to the KIA Training Ground for a tour of the facility and to have the opportunity for a Q and A/discussion with Paul and Earl.
I’d like to arrange a time that works for everyone. Does 1:30 p.m. or 7:00 p.m. on Wednesday, November 28 work for everyone? Regardless of what time we choose there will be food and beverages provided.
Please let me know if you can attend.
--
I hadn’t planned on going as I had another meeting that day and mostly forgot about it. Then this came in on Nov. 26.
--Sent: Monday, November 26, 2012 12:19 PM
Subject: Meeting
Hello everyone,
Due to the fact I have not received a response from everyone and the different schedules of those that did, I feel it’s best that we reschedule for the new year.
I will be in touch in January to discuss a day and time that works best for everyone to come to the training ground.
Take care,
--
Perhaps others had not responded such as myself.
But the fact that Mariner had tried to arrange a meeting with the media, the day before what would become the Kevin Payne introduction, does stand out. It bares to reason - actually, it seems completely likely - the meeting was cancelled when knowledge of the Payne hiring came down. So again, it begs the question, would they have set the meeting if they knew the hiring was coming? Probably not.
The second is less concrete but it does tend to suggest that Mariner and his staff were unaware that MLSE was getting close to hiring Payne. Kurt Larson of the Toronto SUN reported this on Nov. 26 - a day before Payne’s hiring. Actually, it came within a few hours of the initial Payne rumour surfacing out of D.C.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p>CONFIRMED: Eric Hassli will be back with <a href="https://twitter.com/search/%23TFC">#TFC</a> as a DP to start 2013.</p>— Kurtis Larson (@KurtLarSUN) <a href="
<script src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
Even with the suspicion that Hassli may have had a guaranteed option on his deal, the optics of announcing the re-signing of a designated player – always a major decision – if you knew that a new boss was coming in the next day doesn’t completely add up. Especially when you consider some of Payne’s comments on his philosophy of DP’s.
In the post-presser scrum the next day, Payne hinted that he perhaps wasn’t completely satisfied with the current setup of designated players. He praised the concept of going after younger DP’s in the future and then followed it with this (starting at 5:36).
"We have some DP’s now who are under contract. And we’re going to have to build a team around that to some extent.”
For perspective, Eric Hassli will be 32-years-old before the next Voyageurs Cup is decided.
The last bit of information on this front comes from the agent grapevine. There are two or three guys who almost always know the comings and goings of movements in this city. If you’re looking to find out what’s happening, they’re the guys to speak to. And if you’re lucky enough that they pick up your call on that day, you can usually get ahead of the media curve - or at least know what direction to go in. I spoke to two of those guys over the weekend and they told me that they had each received a phone call on Nov. 26. From what I can figure from what they told it was either Mariner himself, or someone acting in his interest. This person on the phone was asking about Paul Mariner’s status as a coach in Toronto. They were asking if they had heard he could be on the way out. Neither would confirm for me who it was that placed the call, just that they had told them they hadn't heard his job was immediately in jeoprady.
Whatever the case, that concern by whoever called can seemingly be shelved for the time being as Payne would give clear indication the next day that Mariner’s job was safe. He spoke positively about him at the presser and has given no suggestion there will be a regime change soon.
But for the blow-it-all up crowd who is praying on Mariner's downfall, regardless of who is on the bench to start 2013, you can probably take some solace from the fact that there are strong indications that Paul Mariner was not aware of the Kevin Payne hiring until it was inked.
Editors Note (Dec 5.) A few people have told me since this published that Wilt had not turned down the job and was still considered in the running. I've yet to confirm that.