The next MLS coach will be ...

Essentially, I said that D.C. United and Toronto have kicked their coaches to the curb and will soon hire their next future, ex-coach. You know what they say … these guys are hired to be fired. Especially at these particular clubs.

And there could be further openings. K.C. could get restless if Peter Vermes can’t steer the ship into playoff port. There’s always something weird going on with the comings and goings of coaches in Chicago. Sure enough, Carlos de los Cobos may hotfoot it back down to El Salvador. Anyway, you get the picture.

So, in my best estimation, here are the Top Five candidates:

(Again, this is picked up from my SI.com piece ... )

1. Richie Williams (New York Red Bulls assistant): The irony about Williams is that each time he’s passed over for an MLS post, he gets to spend time sponging up more knowledge from yet another manager. He’s been an assistant under well-respected Bruce Arena and this year he’s mentoring under the wily Hans Backe. Williams, a two-time interim assistant for New York, will get his shot sooner or later.

2. Robin Fraser (Real Salt Lake assistant): Few MLS assistants are as well respected as the man at Jason Kreis’ right hand. Plus, if Real Salt Lake claims a second consecutive title (or even gets close), plucking an assistant from Rio Tinto is a safe play politically for management elsewhere.

3. Colin Clarke (Puerto Rico Islanders head coach): Clarke’s teams were usually good at FC Dallas, but they floundered in the playoffs. Then again, there hasn’t been any playoff success since he left Pizza Hut Park, either. Since, Clarke has been an absolute sensation in Puerto Rico. Previously he might have needed to be pried out of that sweet gig. But infighting and instability in U.S. Soccer’s second tier may have him thinking otherwise today.

4. Paul Mariner (Plymouth Argyle head coach): The longtime Revs assistant, once thought to be the next guy to get his own post, made big news less than a year ago when he left to take over at the struggling English second-tier side. But the club was relegated anyway (Mariner’s first task was to stave off relegation), so he now resides in a lesser role behind manager Peter Reid. An MLS appointment might not look too bad right now.

5. Caleb Porter (head coach at the University of Akron): Porter was hot property after nearly fashioning a perfect season in 2009 for an unheralded college mid-major. He interviewed for the D.C. United position last December but chose to remain with the Zips, which lost in last year’s NCAA championship match. Porter had a brief MLS playing career. Also ripe for being plucked from the college ranks is Maryland’s Sasho Cirovski, who has helped stock so many MLS rosters with talent he helped develop.