Report: Red Bulls down to three finalists for Sporting Director job

Yes, there are more important things to worry about -- *cough* D.C. United *cough* -- but there is going to come a time when the New York Red Bulls will have to replace apparently outgoing Sporting Director Andy Roxburgh.

And, according to Kristian Dyer at Big Apple Soccer, there are three replacements being considered. Ali Curtis, a league official who was said to be in consideration, is out. In are current Technical Director Ricardo Campos, former Vancouver Whitecaps Director of Soccer Operations Tom Soehn and current LA Galaxy II Head Coach Curt Onalfo.

Onalfo, as Dyer points out, has never held a front office job, only coaching gigs, which might make any potential transition difficult. Although, he does know the league, serving as both a player and a coach.

Soehn is the middle ground candidate. He's played, coached and, as previously mentioned, served in the Whitecaps front office. Soehn's best move in Vancouver was bringing in Camilo, a little-known Brazilian talent who scored in bunches in Malta before flopping in the K-League. Camilo would win the 2013 Golden Boot before controversially moving to Liga MX side Queretaro.

Campos never played in MLS, but according to Dyer has been with the team since 2008 and would probably have the easiest time figuring out the, uh, intricacies of working for a team that's part of a massive soft drink company's sports portfolio.

The good news is that all three candidates are MLS guys, so the risk of hiring another Erik Soler is largely gone. The bad news is that none of the three have the rolodex Roxburgh has put together in his time in the sport, though it's worth pointing out no one in MLS does.

Of course, how successful any candidate can be comes down to who he surrounds himself with. In Toronto, Tim Bezbatcheko's knowledge of the machinations of MLS is unmatched. However, Toronto FC doesn't seem to have the wherewithal to figure out how to stop being a train wreck for long enough for him to use that knowledge.

Anyone who takes over for Roxburgh isn't going to have it easy, but it's up to the rest of the organization to figure out how to soften the transition.