Earnie Stewart is in attendance at the Columbus Crew SC game against the Colorado Rapids tonight at MAPFRE Stadium. Stewart was seen entering a private suite before kickoff of the match.

Why is that important you ask? Well, Stewart is charged with selecting the new U.S. Men’s National Team head coach as the newly-created position of USMNT General Manager. Gregg Berhalter has been seen as the most likely candidate by American soccer press for the open position for some time now. Just to clear, Berhalter manages the Black & Gold and it’s likely that Stewart is in town to either scout the Columbus boss or speak with/interview him.

Stewart was named the General Manager of the U.S. Men’s National Team on June 6 and assumed the role on August 1. In a conversation with the press earlier in September, Stewart said that he was in the process of developing a short list for the position. Although it has been widely speculated, this appears to confirm Berhalter is on that list.

Berhalter has been the head coach of Crew SC since the 2014 season. During his tenure, the team has appeared in one MLS Cup, two Eastern Conference Finals and made three playoff appearances in four seasons. He previously was linked to the open LA Galaxy position in 2016 and was at least interested in the position. That same Galaxy job is open again and it is likely that Berhalter will be a candidate for it if he is not named the national team manager before a hire is made by the Galaxy.

When asked by Massive Report about Stewart’s appearance, U.S. Soccer responded with the following statement via spokesman, “We are not making any specific comments on possible candidates during the MNT coaching search.”