As preseason rolls along in Clearwater, Florida for FC Cincinnati, signs of a refreshed approach are abound for The Orange and Blue.
Many of those changes are nuanced, on the field or procedural operations, that are being worked to try and maximize not only the current day club work, but standards that will reach into the future. But some of the more obvious changes are just that. Obvious.
Staffing across the first team operation and deeper into organization have been one place where FCC have addressed changes this offseason, and those alterations have already had immediate impacts with even more change on the horizon yet to come.
Most notably, FC Cincinnati welcomed a new assistant coach to the club for the first time in the Pat Noonan regime as Head Coach, welcoming Brett Uttley to the mix. They are also in the process of adding even more to the first team coaching staff, as FCC General Manager Chris Albright told the media last week the club is currently interviewing for a Set Piece Coach.
There is no known information yet about who those candidates may be or the kind of candidate they are evaluating, but the fact that they are looking to add shows the intention the club is looking to go. It would be the first time in Albright and Noonan’s respective five years at FC Cincinnati that a dedicated Set Piece Coach would be part of the staff.
Uttley, the newest addition though and the one who is actually now on the ground with the team in Clearwater, Florida, comes to the team after being the Head Coach for Austin FC II in MLS NEXT Pro, and has – in Pat Noonan’s assessment – already made a strong impression in his just over two weeks at the club.
“Brett's been (great), it was a great process going through as far as candidates and him in particular,” Noonan said of bringing Uttley onto the staff this offseason. “How he sees the game and how he viewed our team and how he thought he could help. I think he does it in a way where he knows he's new to the group, so kind of taking a back seat to listening and observing, asking questions, which is always a good sign for me, of new additions, players or staff members, to understand how to build relationships.”
Uttley, 35, brings a vast background of experience at different levels of coaching, including as a first team assistant, a development coach and a head coach. His hiring comes in line with this refresh as FCC look to bring in new ideas to the club while also adding to the already effective compliment of staff. Noonan highlighted, for example, how in his first few weeks Uttley’s curiosity and flexibility have already helped get him acclimated to the club.
“First and foremost, it's being a level of support for Pat and the rest of the staff,” Uttley said last week of his role on the staff. “In particular, I'll be helping with some of the attacking players and helping to utilize some of the experiences that I've gained over the last 10 years or so of my career as a coach in a variety of different places.”
Prior to joining Noonan’s staff as an assistant, Uttley was a head coach. Albeit at the MLS NEXT Pro level, a place where Uttley himself was the first person to point out does not compare to the job at higher levels. That being said, he feels having been a head coach at any level he has a certain amount of understanding of the role he plays in a staff and the pressures a Head Coach has, and that perspective gives him the tools to be a more effective assistant.
“I've lived a variety of different roles over the last 10 years. So when I became a head coach with Austin FC II, it gave me a different perspective, because I lived the different roles inside of the coaching staff, whether it be a video analyst, fitness coach, academy coach, assistant coach, head coach. So it gave me different perspectives of the same idea,” Uttley added in his availability with the media. “I always wanted the opportunity to have that responsibility, and I always felt the difference was making some opinions and suggestions versus taking the final decision as the head coach. So that gives me a different level of, I suppose, empathy of what the role involves. Now, keep in mind, the NEXT Pro level is certainly a much different level being a head coach in MLS, but it gives me the perspective to make the final decision, and perhaps offer some different perspectives that I've learned over the years. But also when a decision gets made it’s being totally on the same page and full support and and then always trying to ask questions of how we can improve.
“So I always just try to look for different ways to improve as a coach and try to help the team from a variety of different ways."
The changes to the staff though, go deeper into the organization than just the first team. The “refresh” goes far deeper into the organization than the first team. FC Cincinnati and its leaders also wanted to see how they could improve all elements of the organization, top to the bottom. They reevaluated the medical side of things and are looking to implement improvements, they’ve evaluated how they scout and recruit, they’ve investigated individual player development and they’ve looked at how the club fosters and grows young players in its academy and second team.
To that effect, for example, new FC Cincinnati 2 Head Coach Sammy Castellanos has been brought in to improve the development pipeline of the second team and its players. To help shepherd the next generation of players up through the FC Cincinnati Academy, into FCC2 and then onto the first team.
“I view myself as a transition coach, where I'm very connected with the academy, and one who wants to play young players and give them confidence – be visible with them,” Castellanos told local media in a session last week. “So going to the (academy) sessions at night, being a part of it, getting to know (players) as individuals, giving them high fives, giving them the energy. Then at the same time dealing with our young internationals that are coming to a new culture, they're coming to Cincinnati, they may not know anything about it.”
Chris Albright said when pursuing a FCC 2 Head Coach they would be looking for someone with significant player development credentials and someone who not only has skills in doing so but is energized by the very concept of being a leader of young men. Albright said they are looking for someone who wakes up in the morning looking to make the club's top talent better, and can be a father figure to these players.
They got that in spades with Castellanos, whose energy and passion is infectious.
“I feel great, I'm energized, I'm passionate. I'm like that all the time, but even more so when guys like Pat Noonan, guys like Hunter Freeman, guys like Jeff Larentowicz, guys like Chris Albright give me a runway to just be myself, and make sure that the kids just have a fun environment where they can compete and get better,” Castellanos explains of his personal philosophy and where his energy comes from. “We're playing football. We're doing something that we enjoy, but we want to do it at the highest level possible.
“The way I approach it is, we're always competing to win. We want to compete to win the way that we want. Win the Cincinnati way,” Castellanos continued. “We're developing winners…we have to do what we have to do to win the game, but within our parameters, and that's always going to be a thin line. I'm a winner all the time, but I have to control my emotions and say, what's best for the players, what's best for that? Sometimes it's failing, which could equal a loss. But then we can educate through video, go back again, and then you win the next three, four games, and all of a sudden you're developing winners.”
The first team squad as it currently stands hosts a collection of young, homegrown players at different points in their development paths. There are even more graduates into the pro ranks from the academy when you look to the second team. There is a clear pathway growing but there is clearly an appetite for more from the club. Chris Albright said, for example, some of the free agent signings made this offseason were made because the academy has not yet developed the reliable depth they need. So given the acumen Castellanos brings, they have clearly moved the club in a direction that encourages internal development and growth.
“There's room for improvement. When we look at how many players have come through and made an impact with the first team, we want that to look different and better,” Noonan explained regarding some of the vision behind the change. “So from the coaching side of things, from the recruitment side of things, how do we develop these young athletes to understand how to be better pros? To help our first team on the field. So that's looking at the player profile, that's looking at the nutrition, that's looking at so many different things to help educate them on what it's going to take.
“That’s a collective effort. But in the end, it's to have them representing our first team, giving these fans that local talent, that local story. So, yeah, like the first team, we can be better in how we progress players to get to a higher level, and not just to get to the higher level, but to really have an impact.”
FC Cincinnati are looking to make changes to how they operate in 2026, and truly look at how this evaluation of the club can not only impact the product on the field this season, but well into the future. The hires they’ve made, and the hires that seem to be next in line, show a clear path forward for both intention and success.
