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Kowalski termination spurred by GM's exit

Friday, January 26, 2001

By Ray Fittipaldo, Post-Gazette Sports Writer

John Kowalski had been trying to schedule a meeting with Riverhounds owner Paul Heasley since General Manager Dave Kasper left the team for a job with New England of Major League Soccer earlier this month. When he was stonewalled, Kowalski could see what was happening.

Yesterday, the Riverhounds made it official when they decided not to renew Kowalski's contract.

"I'm a little taken aback by the whole thing," Kowalski said. "I'm disappointed. I made a commitment to the organization. I really wanted to stay."

Kowalski and Heasley had all but agreed to a new contract about a month ago. There were only a few "minor issues" concerning the contract that had to be addressed. But when Kasper decided to leave for the MLS, Heasley had second thoughts on Kowalski and the coaching situation.

"I think Paul wanted to allow for some latitude for the new general manager as far as the coaching situation goes," said Cliff Gorski, vice president of Alliance Soccer, the Riverhounds' parent company.

Gorski said a new general manager should be in place within a few weeks. Paul Child, an assistant coach the past two seasons, was named interim coach and will likely represent the team at the A-League draft next month if a general manager is not in place.

Gorski said several people from the local soccer community have expressed an interest in the general manager's job as have people from around the A-League. Gorski did not dismiss the possibility that the person brought in could be a coach/general manager.

Kowalski had been the Riverhounds' only coach in their two-year existence. In their first season, Kowalski led the Riverhounds to a 16-12 record and a first-round playoff victory. Although they bowed to league power Rochester in the second round, the Riverhounds were named the 1999 A-League Organization of the Year.

Last season, the Riverhounds had a 10-14-4 record and did not qualify for the playoffs.

Kowalski finally got his desired meeting with Heasley yesterday afternoon.

"I think when Dave Kasper left, it threw them for a loop," Kowalski said. "I had very good chemistry with Dave Kasper and Paul Heasley, with the soccer community. However, he said he wanted to go in a different direction. He said it was a difficult decision. He said he doesn't know if it is the right decision.

"I'm disappointed. I thought I brought a lot to the table; name recognition, the way I'm involved in the local soccer community. ... Working with Paul Child and [assistant coach] Gene Klein, we were very professional about the way we did things. The team was decent enough, we were role models, attendance was appropriate, we had media coverage. But this is part of being in professional sports. You can get the blame and the accolades, but you're not always 100 percent in control."