New England’s soccer team, the New England Revolution, officially parted ways with their Head Coach Caleb Porter in September after two years with the club. With the departure of Porter, the Revolution will be coached by interim Head Coach Pablo Moreira, who has been the assistant coach all year, for the remainder of the 2025 season.
While a very qualified coach, winning the MLS cup twice, once in 2015 with the Portland Timbers and again in 2020 with the Columbus Crew, Porter just didn’t seem to mesh with the Revolution. According to ESPN, in two seasons with the Revs, Porter had an accumulative in-season record of 17-35-12. This is now the second year in a row that New England have failed to reach the playoffs.
New England’s large support group and fan base called, “The Rebellion,” have been asking for Porter to be fired for months. However, they did not just want to see Porter go, they also wanted Sporting Director Curt Onalfo to be let go. According to Boston.com, The Rebellion released the following statement back in July, “It’s time to bring the fight back to the Revolution and give the dedicated supporters something to cheer for — and no longer be embarrassed about.”
When asked why Onalfo himself wasn’t fired as well, he answered with resistance saying that he does his job. Onalfo expressed that his job is to acquire new players who will make a difference during the transfer portal. In the most recent transfer portal window, New England picked up a former Revolution Player, Matt Turner, who was MLS goalkeeper of the year back to back years in 2020 and 2021 and made the MLS best 11 in 2021.
Onalfo told The Blazing Musket, “My focus is being steady — I’ve been through a lot in my life, this not the most difficult thing that I’ve dealt with in my life — and it’s easy for people on the outside to point the finger and say what they would do,” he added, “But I’m very optimistic about the roster and this club and where we’re going. When it turns, it turns. So I steadfastly believe in our future.” New England fans can only hope that Onalfo’s optimism proves true as the team tries to gain momentum moving into the 2026 season.
Now that Porter is out, Moreira will fill his role for the remainder of the season. This is Moreira’s second season as Assistant Manager for New England and has been coaching in the MLS for 11 seasons. He won the MLS Cup in 2015 as assistant coach under Porter and in 2020 he became the youngest Assistant Coach in the history of the MLS to win more than one cup title. While Moreira is not the permanent solution, he will serve as the interim head coach for the rest of the season. According to boston.com, Onaflo said that the new coach, “… needs to know how to win at home.” This has been an issue for New England in previous seasons, including this season with only four home wins all year.
Prior to Porter, New England was coached by Bruce Arena, a former US men’s national team coach. Arena coached the Revs for four years (2019-2023) and had a very successful campaign. In 2021 under Arena, the Revs had a historic season winning the Supporters Shield (most points in the season) and setting a new MLS record for most points during regular season in league history. Although Arena had a good run with the Revolution, he resigned in 2023 midway through the season after being put on administrative leave after allegedly making, “inappropriate and insensitive remarks.”
The last time the New England Revolution made it to the playoffs was in 2023 under Bruce Arena. Once this season is over, the Revs will have gone two consecutive seasons without even attempting a playoff run. This is why fans have shown so much frustration and what led to the dismissal of Caleb Porter as head coach. As far as next steps, Onalfo is working hard to find the best fit for the team to get them back to their winning ways. New England fans should be optimistic looking towards the 2026 season.
