Daniel Karell

The Courier-Journal

Louisville City FC fans can put their fears to rest. James O'Connor is staying in Louisville for the foreseeable future.

Louisville City announced Wednesday that coach O'Connor and his coaching staff have all signed new contracts through the 2020 season. The trio of O'Connor, assistant coach Daniel Byrd and goalkeeping coach Thabane Sutu signed their contracts earlier in the morning. The club's plan is for the coaches to be in place through the team's first year in a soccer-specific stadium.

“I’m obviously delighted to put pen to paper and commit,” O’Connor said in a statement. “A lot of credit needs to go to John Neace. I think he’s played a key role in my signing and all of the coaching staff, and I have to thank Gary Mellor of Beswicks Sports for advising me. It’s a really exciting time for us to be associated with Louisville City when you look at the plans for the future. I feel honored and privileged to be in such a good position, and I’m really excited to be the head coach of Louisville City.”

O'Connor was heading into the final year of his contract this season, and during Louisville City's training camp at IMG Academy in Florida last month, owner John Neace met with O'Connor and his agent Gary Mellor to discuss an extension.

"James is as committed to Louisville City as I am and it was great to see you weren’t selling James on being here, he wants to be here," Neace said in an interview. "He’s on board, he’s fully engaged."

O'Connor and the coaching staff have been together since December 2014, when assistant coach Daniel Byrd and goalkeepers coach Thabane Sutu were hired on. O'Connor was named the club's first head coach on June 4, 2014. O'Connor originally agreed to a three-year deal in 2014 and according to Neace, O'Connor's new deal puts him "in line" with other top coaches in USL.

“It’s a raise over what he was making before," Neace said. "It puts him right in line with the other top paid coaches in our league and it’s reflective of his talent and accomplishments to date.”

Since then O'Connor and his staff have led Louisville City to back-to-back appearances in the Eastern Conference finals. The club went 14-8-6 in its inaugural season before falling to the Rochester Rhinos in and then followed that up with an even better regular season in 2016, going 17-4-9 before losing to New York Red Bulls II on penalty kicks. Both opponents went on to win the USL title.

“I’ve got a great relationship with John (Neace)," O'Connor said in an interview in January. "John and myself have been in talks and we’ve got a meeting set up, but there’s no issues with that, I want to be here ... I’m not actively looking to get out of here and John’s not actively looking at other options. It’s a really good relationship."

For Neace, keeping O'Connor at the helm is part of the pitch to the city and fans for the club's hopes to have a stadium of their own.

"We've got to support him, and in exchange, we get loyalty and a commitment from him," Neace said in an interview in February. "But if he is every bit the coach I know he is, well what do you do when the best team in the world calls and wants him to coach. How do you honestly get the guy to say, 'No, I won't go.' You better have something pretty special going on here."