This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2015, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
Sandy • Craig Waibel painfully watched it unfold, too. From stadium suites around the country and on TV screens in his office or at home, Real Salt Lake's general manager saw too many lopsided loses for his taste.
Too many missed shots from a few yards away. Too many no-show performances. Too many game-changing mistakes and mishaps that, over the course of the season, added up leaving RSL where it is now: On the outside looking in.
As a result, RSL is facing the most crucial offseason since 2007, following Jason Kreis' first year as head coach.
"When you finish the way we did, it's impossible to sit here and tell people it's OK," Waibel told The Tribune. "It's disrespectful to sit here and tell people it's OK."
This will be Waibel's first full offseason in charge. The former assistant coach replaced longtime shot-caller Garth Lagerwey in January, becoming the club's technical director after Lagerwey joined the Seattle Sounders. The 40-year-old was promoted to general manager in August following the exit of president Bill Manning.
What lies ahead for Waibel and the RSL front office is a three-month window in which the club needs to fortify the spine of RSL, long considered to be the brawn of the club and its success, though the revamp actually started after RSL's 5-0 loss to L.A. in the 2014 Western Conference semifinal.
Before the season started, the formation changed and center back Nat Borchers was traded to Portland. Then in midseason, all-time leading scorer Alvaro Saborio was dealt to D.C. United.
Kyle Beckerman and Nick Rimando remain cornerstones, but in order to return to the postseason, significant upgrades in the attack and central defense are necessary. Waibel knows that. Once the evaluations of 2015 end this week, the front office will have a clearer idea of which pieces they have going forward and what style of forwards and center backs they'll pursue.
"We can't ignore the fact we scored the second-fewest goals in the league," Waibel said. "We're not trying to ignore that fact. We're addressing it head-on, so there will be changes made. We have to consider all forms of change as an organization in terms of players, all the way into our tactics, into coaching."
Penciled in as this season's starting center back duo, both Chris Schuler and Jamison Olave are out of contract after they started five matches all season. All six center backs on the roster saw minutes in significant matches, which will make assessments of each defender easier, Waibel said.
"When you have that ability to evaluate them, you have to trust yourself on what you saw," he said. "Without a doubt, our back line will play a heavy focus in what we're trying to get done this offseason."
Along with Schuler and Olave, midfielders Javier Morales, Luis Gil and Luis Silva are out of contract. Waibel said he remains realistic that, though those five are established players, the club won't be able to re-sign all of them.
"We're going to win some and we're going to lose some," he said.
Right back Tony Beltran, who signed a multi-year contract extension this summer, said the club must pick up the shards from last year's offseason shuffling to identify what it will look like in the future.
"We have to figure out kind of what we want our identity to be moving forward as we try to keep up with the progress of MLS," he said. "It's, 'How do we fit into that equation? How can we compete with those other [MLS] teams and who do we want to be?'"
That is a major question as the original RSL core continues to dwindle — a question that was seldom posed during the club's seven-year stint as an MLS title contender.
Waibel said the next month will be spent hopping around the country scouting college players. For the first time since 2008, RSL will have a Top 5 MLS SuperDraft pick. Free agent opportunities will also arise, and talks with agents around the globe have already begun ahead of the January transfer window.
"We won't run away from any opportunities," Waibel said.
RSL must make the right choices if the team is to strengthen its roster ahead of 2016. With another offseason of unknowns, captain Kyle Beckerman took a deep breath when asked what it will take in order to make 2015 a forgettable dream.
"Quite a bit of things," he said. "Hopefully we figure it out, and we'll be ready to go."
Twitter: @chriskamrani —
RSL's expiring contracts
• Midfielder Javier Morales, 35
• Defender Chris Schuler, 28
• Defender Jamison Olave, 34
• Midfielder Luis Gil, 21
• Midfielder Luis Silva, 26
Of note
• RSL holds the No. 5 pick in the 2016 MLS SuperDraft
» The next worldwide transfer window is slated to open the first week of January 2016