HOUSTON – One game remains in the 2021 Major League Soccer season for Houston Dynamo FC before it heads into the offseason, one that will have many boxes to tick.
On Monday, Houston ticked perhaps the most giant box of the offseason when it hired former Dynamo legend Pat Onstad as its new General Manager.
Onstad, a goalkeeper with the Dynamo from 2006-2010, leaves his post with the Colombus Crew SC,, where he served as the technical director and vice president of soccer operations since 2019.
To say that Onstad, and his family, are happy to return to Houston is an understatement.
“We love this place. When we left, it was hard. It was emotional when we left. When the opportunity arose to come back and to lead this club, to hopefully lead it to success and to contend for championships, it was something that I was super excited about and couldn’t wait to get the opportunity to do it,” Onstad said during the press conference.
“When they said that this was a detailed presentation, let me tell you it’s been about ten years in the works.”
Building a resume and first impressions
The decade of work that led to Onstad becoming the Dynamo’s new GM started soon after his retirement in 2011. After finishing the 2011 season with DC United, he became an assistant with the club and stayed there for two years.
He spent part of 2013 as a chief scout for Toronto FC, then joined Columbus Crew SC as an assistant in 2014, which he held until 2018. In 2019, he made to move to technical director.
During his time with the Crew, he was instrumental in helping the club put together the team that lifted the 2020 MLS cup and 2021 Campeones Cup. Heading into the MLS offseason, Onstad’s resume put him atop the list of many vacant MLS GM positions.
Onstad wanted to become a GM this offseason. And while it wasn’t necessarily Dynamo GM or bust, Houston was clearly, Onstad’s No. 1 preference.
“It was certainly a position that I was very excited about and I spent a lot of time trying to make sure that I put the right foot forward,” Onstad told The Bayoucitian. “But also for myself as well to try to have a clearer picture of what I want to do and what I feel like the strengths I can bring to this organization. And try to get it moving forward in the right direction.”
Onstad separated himself from the pack rather quickly in the Dynamo’s GM search. Dynamo FC majority owner Ted Segal said it only took the initial meeting for the Canadian international to impress the club and stand out from the pack.
“We sat with Pat for about two hours, he had an 80 slide PowerPoint prepared and that was on the first go around. So now when he mentions it’s been 10 years in the making, I do believe him,” Segal said.
“The second time around he flew to New York and met with us and came back with a 100-page PowerPoint presentation going into further detail about some of his plans and that was another 2-2.5-hour session. So, I would say that he stood out from the very beginning, and then he confirmed it that second go around.”
Style of play and retooling the roster
One of Onstad’s priorities as GM will be improving the product on the pitch and bringing the Dynamo back to prominence. A crucial first step in that regard will be retooling the roster. In that regard, Onstad said he wants the Dynamo to be a high-energy team that’s proactive in its approach.
He acknowledges that in Houston’s climate, it’s hard to demand a team press for 90 minutes.
The former ‘keeper alluded that he’d like the Dynamo to press at times, while also controlling the tempo of the game. The latter of which will require the Dynamo to acquire players that can play that style. And it’s something Onstad hinted when speaking about the current roster and players he sees that could stay on the team.
Onstad singled out, Teenage Hadebe, Tim Parker, Fafa Picault, Matias Vera, Coco Carrasquilla, Adam Lundqvist, and Zarek Valentine as core players on the roster. The latter two players, Lundqvist and Valentine, Onstad called leaders on the team.
“I think now the big thing is to try to supplement those players with some elite players and guys that can kind of take the pressure off a guy like Fafa so he’s not expected to have to score every game for us to have an opportunity to win games,” Onstad said.
Of course, signing elite players has been easier said than done for the Dynamo in the past but Segal made sure to alleviate any concerns fans may have about Onstad’s statement.
“Pat and I have talked about that objective and I think when you see the salaries released at this time next season that you’ll be able to judge us, and it’ll be significantly different than where we are today,” Segal said. “And I think again, like I’ve said before, befitting of a city of this size the support that Houston is.”
Having commitment from an owner willing to spend in the offseason to improve the roster was a major selling point for Onstad.
“He’s willing to support the club and give this club an opportunity to move forward. I’m excited to have the opportunity, in terms from a budgetary standpoint and an opportunity to try and build this club and make it successful,” Onstad said. “I would not have taken this opportunity had I not felt like I didn’t have the support of ownership.”
Onstad will have a busy offseason and with the full financial support of ownership, it could be the first step towards bringing the Dynamo back to its winning ways.
“I know it’s a lot of work ahead of me,” Onstad said. “but I’m excited for the challenge and can’t wait to get started.”
Jesus Acevedo Jr. is the Editor-in-Chief of The Bayoucitian. He’s an award-winning bilingual journalist from Houston, TX. A graduate of the University of Houston, he has written for the Houston Chronicle, La Voz de Houston, MLSsoccer.com, and ProSoccerUSA.
Before becoming a journalist, Jesus spent his early 20s drumming his way across Houston with two bands — Shortcomings and InsertNameHere. The memories that Jesus made as a musician were the seeds that started the idea for the comedy, Houmans: The Series.