Publisher’s Note: Turf and Boards would like to welcome Nathan Dunn to the family. Nathan, who has written for several soccer blogs including The Blue Testament, will now shine his light on the Kansas City Comets for us and we’re glad to have him.

As things stand now, the Kansas City Comets are without a named head coach. The Comets announced last month that they have agreed to part ways with head coach Kim Roentved, who will end his second stint as Comets head coach with 56 wins, which is the most since the organization’s return to indoor soccer in 2010.

The obvious question is, who will replace “The Rocket” and become the team’s fourth coach in five seasons?

The first name on the list is the predecessor to Roentved’s second stint, Goran Karadzov. Karadzov did well in his one season as head coach, leading the Comets to the postseason before being defeated by the Milwaukee Wave in the Central Division Championship in the 2016-17 season. Although this would probably be the safest choice, I doubt it will happen because he didn’t return the following season and is also kept busy with local youth soccer and is the assistant coach at a local community college.

Other candidates that could be in the mix include: Jeff Davis (former assistant coach), Alan Mayer (legendary goalkeeper and goalkeeping coach), Gino Schiraldi (legendary defender), and Vahid Assadpour (former midfielder and captain). I’d be surprised if any of these guys get the job, but they could still be valid candidates.

The final candidate is Leo Gibson. After yet another season filled with goals in 2018-19, 36-year-old Gibson has to be thinking about life after playing. I’m thinking that he will become the Comets next head coach, and might also take on the player-manager role. Gibson has previously served as an assistant coach, captain, and has clearly been a leader for this organization for quite some time now.

I would expect the decision to be announced before their open tryouts on October 19-20.

Whoever the head coach is, they will have the opportunity to compete against the Wichita Wings in a preseason exhibition game before kicking the 2019-20 regular season off at the Cal Express.

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