The report surfaced shortly before midnight on January 7. Close to 12 hours later, someone in the New York Red Bulls' offices took a moment from stoking the fires currently burning the club's achievements over the past two seasons to the ground to pen a few words...a very few words:
The New York Red Bulls announced on Wednesday that Mike Petke will not return as the club's head coach in 2015. Petke served as the head coach for the past two seasons.
"On behalf of the New York Red Bulls, I want to thank Mike for his service to the club these past two seasons as head coach," said Sporting Director Ali Curtis. "Mike will always be an important member of the Red Bull family."
And that's it. In two seasons as a coach, Petke delivered the club's only major trophy and the best playoff run since 2008, as well as the constant sense, for all the inevitable mis-steps and frustrations, that he held the very same ambitions for the team as the fans in the stands. As a player, he gave the club 197 competitive appearances in all competitions - its all-time appearance record - and bridged the Metro-Red Bull divide in the organization's history.
And for that he is rewarded with a 75-word press release.
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