The biggest change that D.C. United has had in the past month would have to be the hiring of Curt Onalfo. By now every D.C. United fan should know his coaching experience and his plan to change D.C. United. Onalfo comes with the risk that accompanies any coach with a mediocre record, but seems, at least so far, to fit just fine here. He wasn’t the first choice for the job and fans remain skeptical on why that is, but hey, Caleb Porter has only been a head coach for one year. Onalfo seems very focused on bringing D.C. to the top, something former coach Tom Soehn didn’t seem determined to do. He promises to bring change to D.C. and it shows with his plan to switch from the dreaded 3-5-2 formation to the more standard 4-4-2 formation.

He also brought back fan favorite goalkeeper Troy Perkins, arguably the third best U.S. goalkeeper at present. This looks great on paper and D.C. needed a goalkeeper, but the acquisition will be bittersweet for D.C. Perkins is likely to be called up to the national team in the summer and United probably won’t have a steady back-up to take his place. Josh Wicks is predicted to be out the door by then, Milos Kocic needs to develop and Bill Hamid probably doesn’t want to turn into the next Freddy Adu by starting this soon in his career.

Another issue of this signing is the loss of that desperately needed first round pick and attack-minded Fred. Fred has been inconsistent recently, so its no surprise he’s gone to Philly, but United needs a striker. Badly. The best option up front is ladies’ favorite Chris Pontius and veteran Jaime Moreno. Pontuis is solid, but Moreno has lost stamina as he’s gotten older. United needs a striker to pick up when Moreno can’t play and the only other forward listed on DC’s roster is Boyzzz Khumalo, who despite his improvement, doesn’t seem ready for a first string roster spot. Solution? MLS SuperDraft. Problem? United only got two draft picks and they traded the first rounder to Philadelphia. The other draft pick, a boring fourth rounder, was used to get Jordan Graye. Graye is an outside defender, but I doubt he’s going to become an instant starter. He may become the next Jonathan Bornstein (another fourth rounder) or the next Tim Merritt (also a fourth rounder)… but hopefully Bornstein.

However, despite all this, I think this is a boost for D.C. United because it shows Onalfo is truly trying to make the team stronger. Morale is way up for DC fans.

So what should the new coach do now? First solve defensive issues. Is Avery John, Julius James, David Habarugira, or Lawson Vaughn ready to step up for a starting spot? If a new defender is needed to help the defense, so be it. Next issue? Find a solid striker to complement Pontuis up front. Anything else? Maybe solve the center midfield concern. Are Christian Gomez and Clyde Simms starting or will benchwarmer John DiRaimondo get his moment to swim-or-sink? Could Rodney Wallace be the answer to any of problems? How about the goalkeeper backup situation? Wicks looks like the man right now, but he’s lost considerable trust from the fans due to certain events of which I don’t want to write about. If not Kocic needs to step up. Onalfo and the rest of the D.C. United staff have the money to solve these problems with the money from Luciano Emilio’s departure.

As of now, this would be what I think the D.C. United starting line-up should look like:

Perkins

Namoff – James – Jakovic – Burch/Wallace

Quaranta – Simms – Wallace/Gomez – Castillo

Moreno – Pontius

What do you think of the Perkins trade? Vote in the poll!

Bill Parcells may be mellowing as he grows older. When he had issues with wide receiver Terry Glenn while both were in New England, the Tuna referred to his player as “she.” As Jason Taylor defied his new boss by staying away from offseason team workouts to continue his quest on “Dancing with the Stars,” Parcells could have had a field day with the Pro Bowl defensive end, but chose to take the high road.

Although it took a little longer than expected, Taylor will be taking the road out of Miami after being dealt to the Washington Redskins for a pair of draft picks. Anything but a total commitment will not go over well with Parcells, who took over the team after last season’s 1-15 disaster. Missing ample time with questionable injuries, as Glenn did, is one thing. Staying away to go dancing while a new coaching staff puts their plan into place is not acceptable at any level of organized sports, something that an 11-year veteran such as Taylor should have known. It was blatantly obvious that the 33 year-old wanted out of town and let his teammates down by leaving off his cleats for dancing shoes.

Neither executive vicer president of football operations Parcells or new head coach Tony Sparano could have relished the idea of trading one of the cornerstones to the team. Taylor has 117 career sacks, including 11 last year, and has started every game in the last eight years. But when a player puts himself and his possible next career before the team, they are better off without him.

Publicly, Taylor has stated that he intends to play just one more season before pursuing a Hollywood acting career. His contract runs through 2009, and Vinny Cerrato is not concerned about Taylor not honoring it.
“I’m 100 percent positive he’ll play longer than one year,” the Redskins vice president told reporters.

It will be some time before this trade can be fully evaluated. The Fish will receive a 2009 second-round pick and a 2010 sixth-rounder. That seems a bit on the light side for the reigning NFL Man of the Year and the 2006 NFL Defensive Player of the Year, but although they did not make it known, there was no way that Taylor was going to open up training camp as a Dolphin. That would have sent a bad message to the rest of the squad that you can defy the new regime and get away with it. He had to be dealt, if not released, to prove a point and begin the new program properly.

It may be a step back for Miami, but it’s a one, not a two-step.