Report: Caleb Porter Offered Portland Timbers Job

A potential blow to MAC soccer, if this report is true: OregonLive is reporting that Caleb Porter has been offered the coaching job for the MLS's Portland Timbers. Porter's Zips are currently ranked No. 10.

The obvious connection here is that the Timbers have Darlington Nagbe, the Hermann Trophy winner (top NCAA soccer player) in 2010 then was drafted second overall, but he gained more exposure by coaching the Under-23 national team this past year, even if the results weren't flattering.

If he departs, you can't blame the UA athletic department for not doing everything possible to keep him. His extension in 2010 put his employment with Akron through the 2020 season worth about $350,000 annually. And they're already paying like four head football coaches salaries.

For Akron's sake I hope he stays. He coached the U-23 national team in the hopes of reaching the 2012 Olympics but they didn't qualify for it. However Porter is beyond a "rising star" in the coaching ranks. He won an NCAA championship with Akron in 2010, so that counts as having made it already. The only other place to go up in this country is MLS.

Not to put an "if" atop another "if" but a question would be that, if Porter left for Portland, would he coach Akron this season, or depart immediately? Akron's season would end in December at the latest and the 2013 MLS season would start in March. Either way it's a huge distraction but given the way the MLS and NCAA seasons are aligned, there's no great time to leave that would please both clubs. Guess we'll have to wait and see how this very fluid story pans out.

Sidenote: I swore I saw briefly that OregonLive's story said that he had already accepted the job, but maybe the Internet is playing tricks with my head. Or maybe they corrected it.