Reports have surfaced today that Steve Ralston, who announced that he will be retiring from professional play tonight after the New England Revolution's SuperLiga game, will be coming to Houston as a new assistant coach. Ralston would be filling the vacancy left by John Spencer who left last week and is rumored to be in line for the coaching job with the Portland Timbers.
The first report that surfaced comes from Boston.com and says:
MLS all-time appearance leader Steve Ralston is retiring as a player to accept an assistant coaching position with the Houston Dynamo, according to league sources.
Ralston, 36, will play his final game for the Revolution against Monarcas Morelia tonight in the team's final match of Group B play in the SuperLiga.
John Spencer recently resigned as a Houston assistant and is expected to be announced as head coach of the Portland Timbers, who will begin MLS play next season.
Dynamo head coach Dominic Kinnear and Ralston have been close since they were teammates with the Tampa Bay Mutiny.
St. Louis Today is also reporting and similar story. Their report says:
St. Louisan Steve Ralston will retire for good after tonight's New England Revolution MLS match and will, according to the Boston Globe, take a job as an assistant with the Houston Dynamo. Ralston will make the announcement after tonight's Superliga match against Monarcos Morelia at Gilette Stadium.
Ralston didn't re-sign with New England after last season, instead signing with new Division II team AC St. Louis, where he also served as assistant coach, while recovering from knee surgery. When the team ran into financial trouble, Ralston, his knee better, jumped back to MLS, but again ran into injury trouble.
At 36, he's now retiring for good and will be joining former Tampa Bay Mutiny teammate Dominic Kinnear, who's the head coach in Houston. The Houston assistant's position became open when John Spencer quit last week, apparently to become coach of the Portland Timbers of the NASL.
Both reports indicate that a deal has already been made and, unlike we previously thought, the position will be filled with someone from outside of the organization and not a former or current member of the coaching staff.
If these reports are true, Ralston will be a welcomed addition to the Dynamo's staff and will be put to work immediately as the team tries to return to the form of seasons past and make a push for the playoffs.
Updates will be available as soon as a formal announcement of any kind is made.
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