SAN JOSE, Calif. - The San Jose Earthquakes announced today that the club has signed Head Coach Frank Yallop and General Manager of Soccer Operations John Doyle to multi-year contract extensions. The duo has been with the Earthquakes since the franchise returned to Major League Soccer in 2008 and worked together closely to build the team that came within just one game of reaching the MLS Cup Final last year.
“Frank and John have been vital to the success of the franchise over the last three years and we look forward to a continuation of those winning ways,” said Earthquakes President David Kaval. “From our blossoming Youth Academy to the development of our First Team, the leadership of our technical staff has been exceptional. We feel very good about where we are now and the direction we are headed.”
Both Yallop and Doyle are in their fourth straight year with the current Earthquakes. In their first year working together in 2008, they helped lead the team to an outstanding expansion season. The Quakes started slowly, but posted a league-high nine-game unbeaten streak in midseason to nearly earn a spot in the MLS Cup Playoffs. After the poor start, the pair re-tooled the team by signing Englishman Darren Huckerby and Brazilian midfielder Francisco Lima, while making a number of key trades that led to the turnaround. The Quakes finished the season with the highest win total (8) and point total (33) of any MLS expansion team up to that point in the 2000s.
“I am excited about the direction of the organization both on the field with the players that we have brought here and off the field with a new stadium on the horizon,” Doyle said. “Frank is one of the top coaches in the league and I’m looking forward to continuing to work with him and the rest of our technical staff. We have built a foundation over the last three years that we believe will have us contending for championships year in and year out.”
After an up and down year in 2009, the foundation built by Doyle and Yallop that included the acquisitions of Bobby Convey and Chris Wondolowski bore fruit in 2010. The Quakes would qualify for the MLS Cup Playoffs for the first time since returning to MLS. The team posted a 13-10-7 record and 46 points, which was the third highest point total in team history. San Jose was boosted by the signing of former MLS Goalkeeper of the Year Jon Busch, up and coming midfielder Sam Cronin and the first Designated Player in club history, former FC Barcelona and Hull City star Geovanni.
“I enjoy working with John and we have assembled a very good group of players and staff over the past three years,” Yallop said. “I am looking forward to working with them to make San Jose consistently one of the top clubs in MLS in the future. We have put in a lot of work and I like where we are going as a team and an organization.”
The Earthquakes didn’t stop with post-season qualification. After falling behind 1-0 against the New York Red Bulls following the first leg of the Eastern Conference Semifinals, San Jose traveled to Red Bull Arena and ousted the home side with a 3-1 result and a 3-2 aggregate victory. The Earthquakes would eventually bow out of the MLS Cup Playoffs with a 1-0 road loss to the eventual MLS Cup Champion Colorado Rapids in the Eastern Conference Championship.
The 2010 Earthquakes left their mark on the history books with a franchise record 13 clean sheets as a team. Under Yallop, Wondolowski blossomed into the Quakes most prolific single-season scorer in club history, notching 18 goals in 2010 to win the MLS Budweiser Golden Boot and breaking Ronald Cerritos’ club record of 15 goals scored. Additionally, Convey was named MLS Comeback Player of the Year and Wondolowski earned a spot on the MLS Best XI squad.
Doyle began his career with the organization as a player in 1996. He captained the team for five years and eventually became the first inductee in the team’s Hall of Fame. He then worked as a color commentator for San Jose’s TV broadcasts from 2001-03 before serving as an assistant coach from 2004 through 2005. On October 3, 2007, Doyle returned to the club as the General Manager of Soccer Operations.
Like Doyle, Yallop had ties to San Jose before rejoining the reincarnated franchise in 2007. Yallop was the Earthquakes head coach from 2001-03 and won the MLS Cup in both 2001 and 2003. Over his seven years in San Jose, the former Canadian National Team manager has amassed a 70-63-44 record and is the club’s all-time leader in wins. He was named the MLS Coach of the Year in 2001.
