The Portland Timbers have spent the last two weeks conducting interviews with head coaching candidates and hope to name a new head coach by the end of the year.

The Timbers were left without a head coach earlier this month after Caleb Porter made the shocking decision to leave the club following five successful seasons in Portland.

Timbers owner Merritt Paulson said that the club plans to take its time considering potential coaching candidates and is not setting a firm timeline for when it will announce a new hire. Still, Paulson said he was hopeful that a new coach would be in place by the end of the year.

Paulson said the club has already seen a lot of interest in the head coaching job and feels excited about the potential candidates.

"Our coach search has begun in earnest and to say there's significant interest in the position would be an understatement," said Paulson during a media conference call Wednesday. "We are going to have some terrific candidates to choose from."

The Timbers plan to identify and interview coaches from a wide range of backgrounds. The organization is looking at both American and international candidates, as well as coaches from the lower divisions in the United States and from the college level.

But the Timbers are also set on bringing in a coach that either has experience in or knowledge of MLS and can hit the ground running in Portland. The club is not considering any candidates that are currently working as assistant coaches.

"Having MLS knowledge is in my mind one of the factors that would be hard to comprise on," Paulson said. "There are some foreign coaches that have it and others that don't."

Timbers general manager and president of soccer Gavin Wilkinson said that the club is interested in bringing in a progressive and tactically intelligent coach that is bilingual and has coached in multiple countries. The club is also committed to its current philosophy and style of play and hopes to hire a coach that believes in a proactive, possession-based approach and uses a 4-2-3-1 formation.

Still, Wilkinson said that the candidate won't necessarily need to have all those characteristics to be the right fit.

"There are some characteristics that we are looking for within that coach and some of that is to continue what Caleb has helped this club build," Wilkinson said. "We do want a progressive coach, we prefer a coach that's bilingual, we prefer a coach that has managed in different countries, but these aren't all necessary."

The club plans to identify its top five or six coaching candidates in the coming weeks. It will then narrow its search down to the top two candidates before ultimately making a final decision.

According to Paulson, the coaching search will not stop Portland from making offseason roster moves as needed, but the club plans to inform the head coaching candidates on its short list of any potential moves.

Ahead of next season, the Timbers are targeting another proven and versatile attacking player, as well as a young central defender and young defensive midfielder, who could both be capable of starting next season and growing with the club.

"There are some decisions that need to be made relative to the opening of transfer windows, the timing within MLS and making sure if we're signing a foreign player that we're getting them signed early enough to get the visas in place so we can have the full runway of preseason to integrate the player," Wilkinson said. "While the head coach might have a slightly different opinion, we still have to look to fill some of these voids and continue to get better."

Since Porter's departure earlier this month, there has been speculation from analysts and fans about whether Porter's role in Portland may have been more limited than some head coaches would like.

While some clubs in MLS have had head coaches take on both the coaching and general manager/technical director responsibilities, Paulson said he is committed to having a separate coach and general manager moving forward.

But Paulson and Wilkinson also said that Porter was heavily involved in all player acquisitions and moves during his five years in Portland and the new coach would continue to be involved in all roster decisions once he is hired.

While the Timbers had some of the same assistant coaches under Porter and former head coach John Spencer, Paulson said the new head coach would be empowered to bring in his own assistant coaches as well.

"The head coach has to have the ability to have the players that he wants," Wilkinson said. "That's the way of this club. We have a process that we go through, but there will never be a player signed for this club that the head coach doesn't want."

The Timbers twice won the Western Conference and claimed their first MLS Cup title under Porter. And his departure earlier this month came as a shock as it followed a successful season where the Timbers finished first in the Western Conference before falling in the Western Conference semifinals.

But now the club is focused on the future. After taking massive steps forward during Porter's tenure, Paulson is hopeful that the Timbers will continue to grow and evolve under a new head coach.

"We continued to progress and mature and develop as a club during Caleb's tenure here for five years," Paulson said. "That said, is there an opportunity to continue to develop and mature and progress? 110 percent. That's an aspect of this thing that I think is energizing."

-- Jamie Goldberg | jgoldberg@oregonian.com

503-853-3761 | @jamiebgoldberg