Indy Eleven coach Martin Rennie has a lot to do in a hurry

New Indy Eleven coach Martin Rennie should probably have an asterisk beside his official title. Well, both he and holdover assistant coach Trevor James: *technical director.

Some clubs have a lone individual filling the role, while others rely on a general manager or other front office employees to perform the job duties. While it's certainly not unheard of for a coach to double as technical director -- see Jurgen Klinsmann during his U.S. national team tenure or Sporting Kansas City's Peter Vermes -- it certainly puts more on a coach's plate and adds pressure.

For the last year and a half. that's been the case for the Indy Eleven, since former team president and soccer startup junkie Peter Wilt left the club toward the end of the 2016 spring season. Wilt possesses an advanced soccer acumen, which helped ease the workloads of former coaches. Ex-manager Tim Hankinson and then-assistant coach Tim Regan began having to take the reins in other areas upon Wilt's departure.

Wilt told IndyStar that while he unequivocally gave final say on player decisions to the coach, he took on quite an active role in scouting, networking with agents and overseeing player signings.

“I find the type of players (the coach) wants, and then negotiate to try to get them at a price that makes sense for building a team," Wilt explained of the dynamic during his time in Indy. “I make recommendations based on my knowledge and experience, but really it was (the coach) who had final say."

Wilt was replaced by current team president Jeff Belskus, whose background is in auto racing, having previously served as president of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Corp. and its mothership, Hulman & Co. Unlike Wilt, Belskus had no background in professional soccer prior to joining the front office. Belskus' limitations place the majority of the technical director responsibilities squarely on the coaching staff.

It's a role that Rennie is prepared for, however. Rennie confirmed that he and James will team up to assume the technical director responsibilities just like Hankinson, Regan and James did over the past year and a half.

"Yeah, that's right," Rennie said. "We're working on it and we've put a lot of time into it, networking and speaking to a lot of people we know.

"I've built a lot of good connections over the years, and I believe built a good reputation for taking care of players and helping them develop in their careers. It's exciting to see the players and people who want to be a part of Indy Eleven."

While the Eleven are newbies to the United Soccer League (USL), Rennie certainly isn't.

The veteran Scottish manager coached from 2007-11 for the now-defunct Cleveland City Stars of the former USL Second Division and the Carolina RailHawks, who re-branded to North Carolina FC, in the then-USL First Division.

Wilt, who's currently forming a league, the National Independent Soccer Association (NISA), added that he felt Indy's jump to the USL was a practical one.

“The move to USL will give Indy Eleven much-needed stability," he said. "So I’m happy for the club in that regard.”

Though the Eleven haven't officially announced any roster moves this offseason, Rennie hopes to have players signed and in training around Feb. 7.