Kinnear gets three-year extension

Instead of his deal ending in 2012, Houston Dynamo head coach Dominic Kinnear will be in Orange at least until 2015, as he got a three-year extension to his contract with the team.

Jose de Jesus Ortiz announced te Kinnear's New Year's gift in his piece in the Chron today. Link here. Here are a couple of highlights of the article:

With one season left on the contract, club owners AEG, Golden Boy Promotions and Gabriel Brener tore up the old deal and gave the fiery Scot a raise for 2012 in the new four-year pact.

Ortiz says the team will hold a presser early in the week to announce the deal, and quote team prez Chris Canetti thusly:

"I'm not in a position to talk about Dom's situation right now," Dynamo president Chris Canetti said. "But it's safe to say he's going to be the team's head coach for the foreseeable future."

Personally, I think there are nothing but positives about this deal. Kinnear has had his ups and downs, like any coach, but I think you'd have to be harsh indeed to argue that the team is not better off for keeping Kinnear with this deal. Three MLS Cup finals in six years? Five trophies overall in Houston, adding to a Supporter's Shield in San Jose the year before the team came here? Those are the credentials of a coach you do what it takes to keep.