Peter Vermes Contract Extended Through 2028 for Sporting KC

Peter Vermes has been given a contract extension with Sporting Kansas City through 2028 season. According to the KC Star, he was approached recently about the one of many vacant jobs in the US Men's National Team Program, but the opportunity to continue building a program in his image with Sporting was too good to pass up and he turned down the interview.

Peter Vermes success has been undeniable. With four titles to the team's name, the 2013 MLS Cup, and the 2012, 2015 and 2017 US Open Cups it's fair to say he is well accomplished. Vermes is the longest tenured coach in MLS history and one of the longest active managers in the world.

The only real gripe might be the time since that last piece of silverware. Also, those pesky injuries that seem to pile up but are definitely not related to his lack of substitution/rotations… but I digress.

As I broke down why KC would want to re-sign Peter versus moving on from him, I came up with the reasoning below:

1. SKC is consistently competitive. This is not a given by any stretch of the imagination in this league.
2. Given the salary “cap” (or budget, or magical Garber-math, or whatever you want to call it) structure, coaching is one of the only ways to generate consistent success in this league.
3. Therefore, you can make a reasonable assumption that Peter is above replacement level of coaches in the league.
4. If you were to move on it is because you believe you can get someone better.
5. However, I think it's unlikely because the “better” options either already have good gigs or want to live someplace with more prestige (sorry Kansas City, I love you, but a lot of people don’t)

So given all of the above I think re-signing Peter is a smart, albeit slightly unambitious choice. Is a coach who can field a consistently competitive team, but perhaps not the best in the league worth signing for five more years? Let us know your thoughts in the comments!

PS: Do not forget to check back here for all your coverage leading up to, during, and after Sporting KC’s season opener on Saturday vs The Portland Timbers! Go Sporting!