Late last November, FC Dallas co-owner and president Dan Hunt arrived at an uncomfortable crossroads. Head coach and club legend Oscar Pareja had just quit to take over at Liga MX side Tijuana. Longtime technical director Fernando Clavijo had left a couple of months prior to focus on his declining health; he sadly passed away in February. His replacement, Luiz Muzzi, was in the process of exiting FCD to join Orlando City.



Over the previous five years, Hunt had helped maintain one of the more stable leadership groups in all of MLS. Pareja, Clavijo and Muzzi built and molded the FCD squads that won the Supporters’ Shield and U.S. Open Cup in 2016 and made the playoffs in four out of the previous five seasons with a relatively modest payroll. In the span of a few weeks, they’d all left. Hunt, understandably, was shook.



“One year ago today, none of (the exits) were in play,” he told The Athletic over lunch at the Waldorf-Astoria outside...