Official: Revolution hire Brad Friedel as next head coach

Update: On Thursday morning, the Revolution announced the hiring of Brad Friedel as its next head coach. Friedel expressed his enthusiasm for the position in a team release, saying:

“My staff and I are delighted and honored to have been hired by the New England Revolution. I can guarantee that we, the staff and players, will give 100 percent commitment to the club and our fans while looking forward to all the challenges ahead. We can't wait to get started right away building this club for the 2018 season.”

Friedel and the Revolution have also added two new assistant coaches: Mike Lapper and Marcelo Neveleff. Assistant coaches Tom Soehn, Carlos Llamosa, and Head of Fitness Aidan Byrne will not return to the team next season.

The Revolution has found its next head coach.

According to multiple sources, the club has hired Brad Friedel to succeed Jay Heaps as the 7th manager in team history. The report surfaced one day after Taylor Twellman identified Friedel, a veteran of the U.S. Men’s National team and several European clubs, as the Revolution’s preferred choice.

Friedel emerged as a candidate several weeks ago beside former Revolution midfielder Steve Ralston, New York Cosmos coach Giovanni Savarese and former Argentina head man Daniel Passarella, among others. The Revolution also had conversations with former U.S. boss Bruce Arena, per goal.com. But in the end, the club turned its attention toward Friedel.

With the Revolution, the Ohio native will step into his first professional coaching job, having led the U.S. U-19 national team for the past three years. In doing so, Friedel will lean on an extensive playing career—he earned 82 caps and played 20 seasons for Tottenham, Aston Villa and others—to bring the Revolution back to the postseason.

The Revolution could announce Friedel’s hiring as early as Friday.