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Sandy • Will he or won't he?
Real Salt Lake head coach Jason Kreis once again faced questions about his future with the club Monday following a Sports Illustrated report that says Kreis is "almost 100 percent" headed to Major League Soccer's expansion club New York City FC in 2015.
"I have no response," Kreis said after RSL's training session. "It's the same response I've had for the last eight weeks … at least; two to three months now that my focus is on this team, it will continue to be on this team and this club and doing everything I can for the next five days. Then after that I'll go into hiding for three days and try and make a decision."
Asked if a decision has been made yet, Kreis said, "Oh, no, no, no."
Kreis' contract expires at the end of the season, leaving RSL in limbo as one of the transformative figures in the club's history makes a decision in the days following MLS Cup. But Kreis said the outcome of the final against Sporting Kansas City on Saturday will not sway him to stay or leave.
"As I said, I view that what this club has done, what this team in particular has done this year is already a success for me," he said. "The result this weekend is icing on the cake or insignificant to my decision."
Sports Illustrated reported that Kreis flew to England to meet with Manchester City and New York City FC officials in September. RSL is in its second MLS Cup final in five seasons and is coming off a 56-point season, which is tied for the second-best finish in franchise history.
"If that's true, and he does go, we'll definitely miss him," said RSL captain Kyle Beckerman. "He's been the leader of our group and it'd definitely be strange. … Hopefully it's not true and hopefully he stays."
Porter wins MLS coaching honors
After finishing third in voting for the 2013 MLS Coach of the Year award, Kreis was very complimentary of first-year Portland coach Caleb Porter, who received the honor Monday morning.
"Excellent for a first-year coach to come in and turn the franchise around as quickly as he did, and in a very meaningful way," Kreis said. "I think he's done an absolutely fantastic job and is a very deserving person."
New York's Mike Petke finished second in the voting, while Kreis came in third.
Injury update
Forward Álvaro Saborío and defender Chris Wingert are back to training fully after dealing with respective injuries. Saborío missed the Western Conference final series against Portland dealing with a hip flexor injury, while Wingert suffered a broken rib in the first 15 minutes against the Timbers in the first leg. Rookie forward Devon Sandoval missed Sunday's training session with an undisclosed injury, but was back on the pitch Monday.