Kinnear leaving Dynamo for San Jose gig

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Truth be told, Dynamo coach Dominic Kinnear never really wanted to leave San Jose. He and the rest of the 2005 Earthquakes dreaded the thought of leaving their beloved Northern California for hot, humid and seemingly foreign Houston in 2006.

Yet Kinnear had no choice. He had a young family, bills to pay and no other MLS head coaching offer.

So he moved to Houston and thrived. He won, won and won some more while building a Major League Soccer dynasty that no other team wanted to face in the playoffs.

Now he can no longer turn away from a chance to take his wife Colleen and their three children, David, 15, Sophia, 14, and Grace, 11, back to San Jose.

After making Houston one of America's top soccer cities, Kinnear is ready for a new challenge back at home. He informed his Dynamo coaching staff Sunday that he will resign at the end of this season to take over as the Earthquakes' coach. The Dynamo play their last home game on Thursday against New England.

Out of respect for the Earthquakes, however, Kinnear has declined to comment to the media about his status. San Jose is currently coached by Mark Watson, who is in his first full year as head coach. The Earthquakes are in last place in the Western Conference. San Jose officials declined comment as well.

Whatever the case, Kinnear will leave Houston soccer better than he found it in 2006. Dynamo president Chris Canetti will not struggle to find candidates for the technical director's position or the coach's spot.

Assistant coaches Tim Hanley, Steve Ralston and former Dynamo captain Wade Barrett have done enough building the Dynamo to deserve a look at the job, and former Dynamo goalkeeper Pat Onstad will surely inquire about the job.

The new Dynamo coach will be expected to win immediately. The club is a quality center back and perhaps a striker away from contending again.

The Houston Dynamo's coach Dominic Kinnear walks on the field after the Dynamo were defeated in the 2012 MLS Cup championship game by the Los Angeles Galexy at the Home Depot Center Saturday, Dec. 1, 2012, in Los Angeles. less The Houston Dynamo's coach Dominic Kinnear walks on the field after the Dynamo were defeated in the 2012 MLS Cup championship game by the Los Angeles Galexy at the Home Depot Center Saturday, Dec. 1, 2012, in ... more Photo: James Nielsen, Chronicle Photo: James Nielsen, Chronicle Image 1 of / 66 Caption Close Kinnear leaving Dynamo for San Jose gig 1 / 66 Back to Gallery

The Dynamo are not looking to rebuild. They aren't even looking to reload. They merely need to remain healthy because Kinnear will leave a stacked roster that was sabotaged in 2014 by injuries and international call-ups.

Kinnear, who led the Dynamo to a pair of MLS Cup titles and four finals, is the only general manager-coach in the franchise's nine-year history.

This move back is personal. The native of Glasgow, Scotland, was three years old when his parents moved from Scotland to Fremont, Calif. He and his wife, Colleen, still have most of their immediate family in the Fremont-San Jose area. He has three siblings in the Bay Area, and Colleen has 11 siblings there.

The Dynamo gave Kinnear permission to interview for the Earthquakes' job in late September, and the meeting with Earthquakes officials took place earlier this month.

Canetti says he has fielded numerous inquiries about the head coaching position since the Houston Chronicle reported that Kinnear had been given permission to interview for Earthquakes' job late last month.

Kinnear began his coaching career as an assistant with the first incarnation of the Major League Soccer Earthquakes in 2001. He helped coach Frank Yallop lead the squad to MLS titles in 2001 and 2003. He was promoted to head coach of the Earthquakes in 2004.

Kinnear landed in Houston in 2006 after MLS moved the previous San Jose franchise here after the 2005 season. He then led the Dynamo to the 2006 and 2007 MLS Cup titles.

This season, the Dynamo (11-15-6, 39 points) will miss the playoffs for only the second time in franchise history and the first since 2010.

Kinnear is 139-102-107 over his career and 112-88-86 in Houston, where he led the Dynamo to two Eastern Conference titles (2011 and 2012) and two Western Conference titles (2006 and 2007).

The Dynamo appeared in five conference championships in nine years under Kinnear, who has a 15-10-7 postseason record overall and a 14-8-6 playoff record with the Dynamo.

Kinnear held the GM and coach titles, but the new coach will report to a technical director-general manager. Canetti will begin the search for the franchise's first technical director this week and then help that hire pick the next coach.