Standing in front of the fans that have cheered him on and the team that has played its heart out for him, Dominic Kinnear said goodbye to the Houston Dynamo in earnest on Thursday night.
The club will officially finish its season next Friday in Chicago, but for the franchise and its fans, the final chance to see off the coach that has led their charge for nine years came on Thursday. While the game – a 2-1 loss to the New England Revolution – didn’t go their way, the scene afterwards – punctuated by Kinnear leading a 'Dyna-mo' chant with the crowd – was appropriate.
“It was neat. When I look at that picture from 2005 with Mayor [Bill] White it doesn’t seem like a long time ago. Time does fly by fast,” Kinnear told the media postgame. “Something pulled us together with this group and these fans and this city … when you think back on it I’ve been very lucky.”
The night marked the ceremonial end to a Dynamo career that has spanned the team's entire existence and included four trips to MLS Cup and two championship rings, and the soon-to-be former boss and face of the franchise was not just receiving plaudits from the fans.
Kinnear leaves a locker room of players that he’s impacted in a positive way, none more so than midfielder Brad Davis, whose career blossomed under the coach’s tutelage.
“I wouldn’t be here where I am today without the support of him. I wouldn’t have gone to a World Cup without the opportunity he’s given me,” Davis said. “Honestly I can’t really even think about playing for somebody else right now, it’s been that long.”
Injured goalkeeper Tally Hall has been with Kinnear since coming to MLS in 2009; like Davis, Hall’s career blossomed while in Houston.
“Personally, some of my best moments have been on the field playing for [Kinnear],” Hall told MLSsoccer.com. “For that I’m grateful for him putting me on the field and showing me faith. Each guy has that story that the club’s been as successful with Dom as a coach that every player on the team has a story of personal and team successes.”
Seeing Kinnear go is tough for the players. The uncertainty before Wednesday’s official announcement made it tougher.
“It’s been hard. It’s not an easy thing for players to go through,” Davis said. “It definitely, mentally, was difficult. Dom’s choice to leave I think everybody understands it and supports him in that, but the unknown as an athlete and what happens to us is a big question. I’d be lying if I said it wasn’t difficult and weighed on us a little bit. We still went out to do our business to the best of our ability but it was something that was there.”
Now Davis and everyone else know that change is coming. A technical director will be hired and a new boss will fill the coach’s office next season.
But that can wait, as Thursday was about paying tribute to the coach that shepherded soccer in Houston for nearly a decade, even if the result didn’t go their way on the night.
“As players we would’ve loved to send Dom out on a win,” Davis said about the result. “Dom’s shoes aren’t necessarily going to be filled. He’s always going to have, there’s always going to be part for what he’s done.”
Darrell Lovell covers the Houston Dynamo for MLSsoccer.com.
