Reports: Ben Olsen and Hugo Perez interviewed for Dynamo head coaching job

Names are starting to surface in the Houston Dynamo search for a new head coach. According to Pablo Maurer and Sam Stejskal from The Athletic, the Dynamo have had discussions with former D.C. United head coach Ben Olsen about becoming Houston’s next head coach. Maurer and Stejskal added that one of their sources described the talks as relatively far along.

Olsen took over as head coach of D.C. United in 2010 and held the position until he was fired in 2020. The former MLS and USMNT star led D.C. to capturting the Lamar Hunt US Open Cup in 2013 and was named MLS Coach of the Year in 2014. He finished with a record of 135 wins, 90 draws, and 160 losses during his time in the nation’s capital.

MLSsoccer.com’s Tom Bogert confirmed that Olsen has been in Houston to be interviewed and also added that current El Salvador National Team manager Hugo Perez has also been interviewed. Perez, like Olsen, was a United States international, earning 73 caps for the USMNT. He was elected to the National Soccer Hall of Fame in 2008. Perez has helped El Salvador take strides in his time managing the national team, and has begun recruiting American born players to help strengthen the squad.

These aren’t the big names like Tata Martino and Marcelo Bielsa that Dynamo fans had in mind, quite the opposite. How do you feel about hiring someone like Olsen or Perez? Is the front office aiming too low and not going after a “big name”? Let us know in the comments.