Surely you've heard by now that Curt Onalfo has been fired from his position as DC United's head coach. Under Onalfo, United went 3-12-3 in MLS play, scoring just 12 goals and conceding 31 (placing us dead last in each category). While the club has advanced to yet another US Open Cup semifinal, a couple of MLS B-teams and 2 USL-2 sides. Ultimately, it appears that Kevin Payne and co. felt that Onalfo had lost the locker room. No matter how you feel about Payne, it's certainly hard to argue that point after watching DC come out slowly in nearly every game since our last win (3-2 at Seattle). While the front office and playing staff both bear a huge chunk of the blame for our current plight, it must be said that Onalfo did his own share of damage.

Stepping into the breach is none other than club legend Ben Olsen, who only just moved into the coaching profession a few months ago. Payne made very clear that Olsen is an interim head coach:

The intention is that Ben is an interim head coach. This is not an audition for the head coaching job.

Nonetheless, Olsen has moved from player to Onalfo's third assistant (behind Kris Kelderman and Mark Simpson) to head coach in an absurdly short period of time, and Olsen's quotes to the media indicate that he is all too aware of the fact that he's being asked to perform miracles while still in his apprenticeship. However, if there's a person that can get other people to focus on battling for 90 minutes and playing for the DC United shirt, it is Olsen.

Check back in the near future, as both Shatz and I will have much more to say on the topic.