The San Jose Earthquakes will sign interim head coach Mark Watson to a long-term contract, according to reports out of Northern California.

A tweet from Center Line Soccer's Robert Jonas on Sunday evening first broke the news.

#SJEarthquakes GM John Doyle announced that the club will sign Mark Watson to a long-term deal to be the permanent head coach. — Robert Jonas (@robertjonas) October 28, 2013

The Quakes did not make any executives available for comment, but did confirm to MLSsoccer.com that the the two sides have agreed to terms while emphasizing that the contract has not been finalized yet.

Watson took over the reins following the firing of Frank Yallop on June 7. At the time, the Quakes were mired in eighth place and largely assumed to be out of the playoff picture.

Under Watson, they finished the season on an 11-5-3 run, including going unbeaten (5W, 0L, 2D) in their final seven matches, and they just missed the playoffs.

“I think he’s done a great job,” Quakes forward Chris Wondolowski said last week. “He definitely has my backing. I think he’s been a great coach.”