I did an audio interview with a relatively well-known soccer name tonight (no spoilers, since the interview will be available Monday), in which the subject called the USMNT head coaching job "high-profile."


I suppose I had never considered the job's profile status, high, low, or in-between; the job just is, and since each of the men in charge over the last twelve years have been American, the profile of the job is less than it might have been. There just aren't any high-profile American coaches that rate on any meaningful level beyond these borders, and Americans are therefore relatively cheap. It's safe to say that had Klinsmann taken the job back in '06 he'd have made significantly more than Bob Bradley did. In that sense, what the job pays in part dictates the profile; if Klinsmann or another big foreign coach were hired now, the profile would increase with the higher salary.


But there are other factors at play. The place of the US National Team in the world pecking order matters, as does the potential of the team. Is the United States on the verge of making "real" noise in a major tournament, or is it just solidly placed in a middle tier or world football? Arguments can be made for both, and it's likely there are those abroad who might see it both ways. Those that ascribe to the "sleeping/waking giant" theory would surely rate the job higher.


We could easily get into how many high-profile jobs there might actually be, since that's relevant to the question. Off the top of my head, I can come up with eight obvious candidates: England, France, Italy, Spain, Holland, Germany, Brazil and Argentina*. The common factor with all of those nations is that they have a World Cup title or finals appearance to to their name; it naturally follows that the biggest jobs are the ones with countries that have succeeded at the highest level. Considering that the US has yet to to progress beyond the quarterfinals in the modern era, it's nearly impossible to rate it as high-profile on a scale where success is a consideration.


It's about more than just success, though. Profile also follows visibility; by virtue of being head coach of the national team for the world's leading superpower, one whose cultural tentacles reach almost every corner of the globe, the USA head coach is higher profile than the track record of the team would seem to indicate. That "rising" perception adds to it, as does an growing level of attention from casual American sports fans and the domestic media. It's difficult to be high-profile when no one is paying attention on the home front.


My conclusion is ultimately that the US job isn't high-profile, at least not yet. I believe it's probably attractive to a certain level of international coach, but until US Soccer invests significantly in the position's salary, it's a mid-level job with big time potential. Winning something beyond CONCACAF confines would clearly push it to a new level.


The profile of the job in the United States is a different question entirely. It's actually tough to say if it's any higher here than internationally.


When put to MFUSA Twitter followers, a majority said the job is not high-profile.


So what say you? Is USMNT head coach a high-profile job?


*Incidentally, a second tier of jobs might looks like this (also 8 to give it symmetry): Portugal, Mexico, Chile, Croatia, Russia, Nigeria, Czech Republic, and Turkey. You could argue that the US isn't too far off of this tier, if not a rightful part of it. And this tier is VERY debatable. Feel free to disagree.