Tuesday, May 20, 2008

FC Dallas GM fires head coach Steve Morrow

By Pegasus News wire

FC Dallas General Manager Michael Hitchcock announced today that Steve Morrow has been relieved of his duties as head coach, effective immediately. Marco Ferruzzi, in his fourth season as an assistant coach, will coach the team on an interim basis. Ferruzzi will make his debut against Real Salt Lake on Saturday, May 24 at Pizza Hut Park (7:30 p.m. CT).

Steve Morrow

“We have set high standards, expectations, and goals for this team and organization,” said Hitchcock. “I feel that the team was not heading in the direction we had planned, and believe it is in the best interest of the club to make a coaching change at this time.”

FC Dallas is currently in fourth place in the Western Conference with a record of 2-3-3 (9 points). The team is riding a four game winless streak, and is 1-2-1 at Pizza Hut Park this year.

“This is obviously a difficult decision for me to make, since it was my choice to give Steve this opportunity,” added Hitchcock. “Having said that, Pizza Hut Park is an incredible venue, and our great fans deserve much more from our team for their continued support. We appreciate Steve’s contribution to our organization and wish him success in his future endeavors.”

Morrow was introduced as the club’s fourth head coach on December 11, 2006. In his first season as head coach, FC Dallas posted a 13-12-5 record (44 points) and finished in third place in the Western Conference. The team advanced to the 2007 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup championship game for the third time in team history, falling 3-2 to the New England Revolution at Pizza Hut Park. FC Dallas advanced to the MLS Cup Playoffs for a league-record tying 10th time in history, though was eliminated in the Conference Semifinals by eventual MLS Cup Champions Houston Dynamo.

“I have thoroughly enjoyed my six-year association with this organization and was proud to be head coach of FC Dallas,” said Steve Morrow. “I feel I leave the team in a very strong position with a wonderful group of players that are capable of achieving great things. Due to a recent run of poor results, I fully accept responsibility, and, if the team needs to go in a different direction then I wish the players nothing but great success for the remainder of the season and beyond. I'd like to thank my staff, the players, the Hunt family and all the fans for their support.”

A Northern Ireland native, Morrow played the final two years of his professional career with Dallas. During the 2002 and 2003 seasons, he scored three goals in 41 career regular season games and once in three playoff matches, playing primarily as a center back.

He was hired as one of the team’s assistant coaches on Feb. 3, 2004, and was the first assistant coach during the 2005 and 2006 seasons.

Source: FC Dallas Communications

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