Real Salt Lake’s Dave Checketts wants to talk ... about Jason Kreis

I talked to Real Salt Lake co-owner Dave Checketts this morning; the topic was MLS playoffs and changes that may be discussed at the upcoming owners meetings.

While we wrapped up, he asked if we could talk about one more thing? Well, for a journalist that’s like Zooey Deschanel sidling up on a bar stool beside me and asking would I mind keeping her company for a while? “Well, of course!” He wanted to do some campaigning for Jason Kreis. Checketts and others around Rio Tinto believe Kreis is getting short shrift in current conversations about MLS Coach of the Year.

Checketts was passionate about it; his admiration for Kreis and the young coach’s blitz of achievement over a short career is immense.

“This is a guy who retired as a player just three years ago!” Checketts reminded me.

I told him that I’ve known Jason since he was an MLS pup, a rookie midfielder. (And one who didn’t like to say much, usually deferring politely to older veterans around him when it came to media matters.) And I can say confidently, with abundant personal knowledge, that Kreis is 100 percent class.

As the youngest manager to win an MLS Cup, his growing body of professional work speaks for itself. It’s no stretch to expect Kreis will begin getting more and more national team consideration – although it won’t be today or even tomorrow, but rather in the coming years. He’s 37 today. So he’ll be 41 as the next World Cup cycle commences, with seven years of coaching experience (assuming things continue to go well and that he doesn’t have a gap in his coaching career.)

All that said, as I told Checketts, he’s up against some tough nuts in the Coach of the Year race. That’s because Coach of the Year voters love them some “worst-to-first” stuff.

Neither the New York Red Bulls nor FC Dallas have exactly gone worst-to-first just yet. But managers in both places have certainly orchestrated remarkable turnabouts. Hans Backe was won at a place where winning was practically a lost language. In Dallas, Schellas Hyndman took a formerly wandering flock, herded them in the right direction and will beat or match the league record for fewest losses ever in one season. Plus, most people appreciate the way Dallas plays, always with intent to go forward.

Kreis has one more thing working against him: His team won a championship last year.

Is there accomplishment in managing success after a title? You bet.

Has Real Salt Lake continued to improve this year, spinning that late-season 2009 success into an even better on-field product this year? Yep. You couldn’t possibly argue otherwise.

And, honestly, I believe Kreis and RSL will lift the MLS Cup in Toronto on Nov. 21.

The coach is having an outstanding year, but Coach of the Year is a different matter. The comeback stories are simply too compelling.

Besides all that, I know Jason well enough. And I’m pretty sure he doesn’t care a lick about who gets Coach of the Year. He’s got something else targeted.