Dane Murphy appears to be D.C. United’s new Technical Director

It looks like D.C. United will have a technical director for the first time in a decade, and he played for the team a decade ago. We have heard rumors about this move for weeks, but tonight Dane Murphy updated his Twitter profile to list a new organization:

His Twitter cover picture also just happens to feature him playing against Wayne Rooney during Murphy’s time with the New York Cosmos. He also updated his LinkedIn profile to promote his new job: Technical Director of D.C. United:

If you remember the name Dane Murphy, it may be because he played for United back in 2008 and 2009, especially since he was a part of the 2008 US Open Cup squad. Since then, Murphy headed to Germany to play with VfL Osnabruck in the 3.Bundesliga, then returned to join the New York Cosmos in the NASL. Murphy then retired before the 2015 season to become a scout for the Cosmos, before leaving to become a scout for RSL in January of 2017. Steve Goff first reported that D.C. was interested in hiring a technical director with the goal of having that person hired by December 1.

For the 32-year-old Murphy, the move is a lateral one, having joined Real Salt Lake in the same role in January, after serving as a scout for the 2017 calendar year. D.C. did apparently have to beat at least one MLS team out for Murphy’s services (and more importantly, his contact network).

Since Dave Kasper was promoted to general manager over a decade ago under Kevin Payne, D.C. United has been without a technical director. Having more eyes on the soccer side of the organization is always a plus, so hopefully Murphy can help continue the team on their upward swing.