Sunday, October 23. Decision Day. The Seattle Sounders had finally clinched a spot in the MLS Cup playoffs by beating Real Salt Lake 2-1, capping off their historic three-month climb up the Western Conference standings. In the hubbub of celebration and chaos on the pitch and in the stands at CenturyLink Field, interim head coach Brian Schmetzer felt a hand on his shoulder as Sounders General Manager Garth Lagerwey pulled him aside and spoke just a single sentence: “you’re my guy.”
Back during the first week that Schmetzer was at the helm of the club, he walked into Lagerwey’s office and said “look - I’m the new coach, we gotta start that relationship over, it’s different than when I was an assistant.