FC Dallas fires coach Morrow

Soccer Betting Lines

05/20/2008 - Frisco, TX (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - FC Dallas fired coach Steve Morrow on Tuesday, two days after the Major League Soccer club was humiliated in a 5-1 to the Los Angeles Galaxy.

The loss extended Dallas' winless streak to four games and dropped the team's record to 2-3-3 this season. Dallas is fourth in Major League Soccer's Western Conference.

Marco Ferruzzi, in his fourth season as an assistant coach, will lead the team on an interim basis.

"I feel that the team was not heading in the direction we had planned and believe it is in the best interest of the club to make a coaching change at this time," Dallas General Manager Michael Hitchcock said.

Morrow was named the club's fourth coach in December 2006. In his first season as head coach, Dallas posted a 13-12-5 record and finished in third place in the Western Conference.

The team advanced to the 2007 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup championship game for the third time in team history, falling 3-2 to the New England Revolution at Pizza Hut Park.

FC Dallas advanced to the MLS Cup Playoffs for a league-record tying 10th time in history, though it was eliminated in the conference semifinals by eventual MLS Cup Champions Houston Dynamo.

Dallas was unbeaten in its first four games this year, including a pair of 2-0 wins over Red Bull New York and Chivas USA and a 3-3 tie with Houston. But the club has lost three of its last four and had just two goals during its current four-game skid.

Dallas is still just three points out of first in the Western Conference.

"I fully accept responsibility and, if the team needs to go in a different direction, then I wish the players nothing but great success for the remainder of the season and beyond," Morrow said.

A Northern Ireland native, Morrow played the final two years of his pro career with Dallas. In 2002 and 2003, he had three goals in 41 regular season matches and also scored once in three playoff games, playing primarily as a defender.

He was hired as one of the team's assistant coaches in 2004, and was the first assistant coach during the 2005 and 2006 seasons. Ferruzzi will make his debut against Real Salt Lake on Saturday at Pizza Hut Park.

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Pacific-10 Conference odds

Teams that should be in: Stanford

Oregon and USC get their tickets punched after taking care of business this weekend. Yes, the Trojans' computer numbers aren't great, but there's no way the third-place team in this league is getting nixed. Grudgingly, I added Arizona after consultation with our Bracketologist. I don't know that Arizona will lose its last three (including a Pac-10 quarterfinal game), and even if the Cats do, I still can't see how they'd be left out, given the overall profile. That said, it bears watching, as three more L's would leave them at 18-12 (9-9) and on a 6-11 skid entering the Dance. It would be nice to see the Wildcats get at least one W in the Bay Area next week, as Cincinnati (albeit without Armein Kirkland and with a worse profile) was axed after a similar slide last season. I just couldn't rationalize having some of the other teams as locks and not having Arizona in that category -- there just aren't enough good teams behind the Cats to threaten their spot, it seems. Stanford has its fate in its own hands with the Arizona schools coming to the Farm to close out the regular season next weekend.

Should be in:

Stanford [17-10 (9-7), RPI: 40, SOS: 21] No shame in not getting a win in L.A., but that makes the home game against Arizona State a must-win ahead of what could be an intriguing meeting with Arizona should the Cats lose at Cal. Getting to 11 Pac-10 wins would make Selection Sunday much more comfortable, but 10's probably more than enough this season. The Cardinal have nonconference wins over Texas Tech and at Virginia to lean on, although they also lost badly to Air Force and Santa Clara at home.

Southeastern Conference odds
Work left to do: Alabama, Georgia, Mississippi, Mississippi State

It looks more and more possible that no one from the SEC West will make the NCAAs. How weird is that? Tennessee and Vandy move into the locks category after more good work this weekend. Kentucky stays there, although it would be smart for the Cats to handle Georgia at home Wednesday ahead of a trip to the Swamp. Could a disaster scenario (two more L's and a first-round SEC tourney exit) somehow dislodge the Cats despite their incredible computer numbers? Still unlikely, but not worth chancing it.

Work left to do:

Alabama [19-9 (6-8), RPI: 43, SOS: 47] The tough L at Tennessee was understandable, and even created some hope. Unfortunately, that hope was dashed by a home loss to Auburn, which leaves the Tide in some real trouble. There's still no signature win on the profile (no, Kentucky doesn't count), and the computer profile is weakening rapidly. The Tide conceivably could beat Ole Miss and win at Miss. State to get to 8-8 and clinch at least a share of the West crown, but that's probably not enough right now. The Tide will need to do some work in the SEC tourney.

Georgia [16-10 (8-6), RPI: 52, SOS: 23] This is the team with the best chance to make it from this section right now. The Bulldogs rebounded from a terrible performance at Ole Miss to beat down Miss. State. Now they are at Kentucky (king of the RPI 51-100 win) and home to Tennessee. That would be worth a lot of computer points to get both (which is doable), as both teams are in the top 11 in RPI. Finishing at least 9-7 is an absolute must, and I would feel much better about the Dawgs' chances if they got both to get to 10 SEC wins. They also beat Gonzaga, but lost to ACC bubblers Georgia Tech and Clemson.

Mississippi [18-10 (7-7), RPI: 63, SOS: 79] Like everyone else in this division, Ole Miss gacked up a chance to stake a claim, losing by double figures at South Carolina. Even 9-7 likely is not nearly enough with a nonconference profile devoid of anything notable.

Mississippi State [16-11 (7-7), RPI: 66, SOS: 37] With a chance to get in the mix, these Bulldogs were leashed by their Georgia counterparts. Could they get to 9-7? I guess -- although winning at Arkansas, then beating Alabama is no lock -- but would that mean all that much for a team with this overall profile? Probably not. There's nothing of note (on the good side) in the nonconference profile.

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