Before taking over Columbus Crew SC in January and opening the 2019 regular season against the New York Red Bulls in March, Caleb Porter had only stepped on the MAPFRE Stadium field as a Major League Soccer coach four times. All of those came as the leader of the Portland Timbers.
Porter was named head coach of the Timber in 2013, two years after the team began play in MLS. Over his five seasons in Portland, Porter led the Timbers to two top finishes in the Western Conference and an MLS Cup title.