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Of the described lengthy list of candidates Craig Waibel, Jeff Cassar and the RSL braintrust examined, it became more clear each time his name resurfaced that Richie Williams was the assistant coach the club sought.

"As we had a couple of conversations with Richie, it just started to become more and more apparent," said Waibel, RSL's general manager. "He's an extremely respectful human being, but a remarkably focused and driven person."

The former MLS midfielder won three MLS Cup titles in his days at D.C. United and was an assistant coach under Bruce Arena, Juan Carlos Osorio and Hans Backe before joining the U.S. youth national team system. So what stood out about his coaching acumen?

"Very organized, very talent-oriented," Waibel added. "His critical thinking and problem-solving is something that when Jeff and I spoke with him and when Jeff spoke to him privately, really impressed us. We thought he could add another needed element to our staff. Any time you get someone who's more experienced and qualified, you're getting better."

On Monday morning, RSL made the hiring of Williams official. The 45-year-old joins the club immediately and will serve as RSL's main midfield coach. Coinciding with the move, RSL original Andy Williams will return to the front office in the role of the club's head scout after serving two years on Cassar's staff.

"[Williams is] very educated in the MLS players and he's very educated in the young college players and I think that's going to be a great asset to our organization," Cassar said in a release.

"After meeting up with Craig and Jeff, I thought it would be a very good opportunity," Williams said in the same club release. "Being part of this staff, we all have the common goal of winning the MLS Cup and I think those are things that made me want to come on board."

RSL began negotiations with Williams in early December, as reported by Steven Goff of The Washington Post on Dec. 3. Nearly a month later, RSL added Richie Williams to its staff. After his playing days came to an end, Williams served as an assistant coach with the New York Red Bulls. On two occasions, Williams served as an interim head coach in New York.

In 2011, Williams was named coach of the U.S. U-18s before joining the U.S. U-17s in 2012. The U-17s recently went 0-1-2 at the 2015 U-17 World Cup in Chile. In early November, Grant Wahl of SI.com reported that Williams' job as U-17 coach was "most definitely in danger."

On Dec. 23, U.S. Soccer appointed former Philadelphia Union coach John Hackworth as head coach of the U-17s. Hackworth was recently a coach on the U.S. U-23 staff before replacing Williams.

Waibel, however, said the struggles of the U-17s under Williams didn't present any cause for concern in the hiring process.

"Dealing with 16-year-olds is different than dealing with pros," he said. "I refuse to get into the conversation of comparing what he did and the results he had with the potential he has as a coach. His tactical ideas and his awareness and the way he communicated in the interview setting and everything — we believe it'll translate into the professional game a lot smoother."

-Chris Kamrani

Twitter: @chriskamrani