CHARLOTTE, N.C. (Dec. 5, 2014) — The Charlotte Independence is excited to introduce Mike Jeffries as the first head coach in our USL PRO expansion team’s history. Jeffries spent the past two seasons with the Des Moines Menace of the USL Premier Development League, where he had a combined regular-season record of 18-7-3. He was named the 2014 PDL Coach of the Year after guiding the Menace to the league’s regular-season championship. The Menace collected its first postseason win in five years and built an 11-match unbeaten streak before falling in the PDL quarterfinals to eventual champion the Michigan Bucks. Jeffries also led the Menace to a combined 3-2 record in the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup.

“Mike will create a great environment to play soccer by treating people well and helping the players in their development as professional soccer players,” said Independence GM Tom Engstrom. “Mike has a wealth of experience including being a head coach in Major League Soccer, college soccer and the Premier Development League. He has a good eye for talent and a track record of producing winning teams."

The Independence in September reached a two-year agreement to become the USL PRO affiliate of the Colorado Rapids. “Mike brings the specific experience we are looking for,” said Rapids Senior Director of Soccer Development Brian Crookham. “He has a great eye for talent and will create an environment in which our younger players can accelerate their development while learning what it takes to compete and win games at the professional level. Mike will prove to be a great extension of our staff at the Independence.”

Jeffries, 52, has more than 20 years of experience as a professional soccer coach and player, including 10 years spent on the MLS sidelines. A former member of the U.S. Men’s National Team and NCAA player of the year, Jeffries has ties to the game at the international and collegiate levels.

His first MLS gig was as an assistant to Bob Bradley during the Chicago Fire’s first three seasons. The inaugural Fire team won the 1998 MLS Cup and U.S. Open Cup titles, repeating as Open Cup champion in 2000. Jeffries then served as head coach for the Dallas Burn (now FC Dallas) from 2001-03, reaching the MLS Playoffs in each of his first two seasons. He was nominated for MLS Coach of the Year in 2002.

Jeffries spent the next four years coaching at the collegiate level, before returning to the Fire as an assistant coach from 2008-10, and as Director of Player Personnel from October 2010 through September 2011. He also served as a scout for the USMNT in the 2010 FIFA World Cup, assisting Bradley and his staff in South Africa.

“The opportunity to build from the ground floor up in Charlotte is very exciting, as is the partnership with the Rapids,” said Jeffries. “The level of the USL PRO has a great appeal to me. The combination of competing at a high level week-in and week-out, with the additional goal of developing young professional players is a perfect mix for me. The Independence impressed me with the organization, the people and their long term goals. As a bonus, I look forward to being back in North Carolina, an area I have always loved, and I am really excited about getting to know Charlotte.”

The Bethesda, Md., native is a graduate of Duke University, where he earned the 1983 Hermann Trophy as a senior. Jeffries’ junior season ended in an epic national title match, an eight-overtime 2-1 loss to Indiana. Between 1984-85, he earned three caps as a member of the USMNT. From 1984-88, Jeffries played professionally in the top U.S. indoor and outdoor leagues.

In the final season of the original North American Soccer League he scored two goals in 10 matches for the 1984 Minnesota Strikers. Jeffries, the first pick of the 1983 Major Indoor Soccer League Draft, played for the reincarnated Minnesota Strikers from 1984-87 and for the Dallas Sidekicks in 1988 before a torn ACL ended his playing career.

The first stop in Jeffries’ coaching career was with the New Orleans Riverboat Gamblers, a member of the former USL A-League. He served as an assistant coach from 1993-94 and as head coach from 1995-98.

“I have been fortunate to be a part of many soccer environments from which I have been able to learn,” said Jeffries. “This team will compete every day in training to develop a winning mentality in an environment where young players will learn the nuances of being good professionals.

"Obviously, my goal for the team is to win championships as well as develop players for higher professional levels. The benefit of being an expansion franchise is the ability to set the tone and the environment from the beginning - to hold players accountable daily in training and to build confidence in individuals and the team.”

The Independence will begin training camp in early February 2015 and kick off its inaugural USL PRO season in late March 2015.