FC Dallas 2025 Part 4: The Eric Quill Sessions

Last Wednesday’s announcement of Eric Quill as the new FC Dallas manager wasn’t a surprise. Most folks inside the FCD ecosystem pegged Quill as the front runner when Nico Estévez was let go in June. Per GiveMeSport’s Tom Bogert, Quill was a finalist for the job back in 2022. This on Quill from my Nico departure piece:

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If you asked me for an early betting favorite, this is the name I’d give you. The current head coach of New Mexico United spent two years at the helm of North Texas SC, played for the club in 2004, and is generally well regarded around Frisco. With names like Tarik Scott, Nolan Norris, Diego Garcia, and others closing in on first team spots Quill becomes an attractive name due to his previous work with talented youngsters under the FC Dallas banner.

That early favorite came home, making the 46 year old the ninth full-time coach in franchise history. Quill has big history in Frisco, including 23 games as a player with the 2004 Dallas Burn. He led North Texas SC to a USL League One title in 2019 before taking New Mexico United to the USL Championship Western Semifinals and the US Open Cup quarterfinals this season.

There’s a decent amount to break down about the Quill hire so let’s begin with a common social media refrain in the wake of the decision.

The value of ambition

Quill’s appointment has been met by supporters and media alike with a uniform message: Quill is a good coach and organizational fit, but the hire lacks ambition. s. That the Hunts are aiming too low, and even when making a good decision like hiring Quill it comes with a bad after taste due to this supposed small dreaming.

I understand those complaints on a certain level. The Fire hiring Gregg Berhalter and Earthquakes hiring Bruce Arena as managers with big names, big personalities, and long CVs can have you longing (although you couldn’t pay me enough to put Bruce Arena near FCD ever). Even the Union letting Jim Curtin go while Dallas was still in the search process had people thinking something seismic this way come.

Where I don’t understand the criticism is this: ambition in the abstract has no actual value. Let’s say Dallas hires Curtin for instance. We’d all say it’s a good hire because of his success in Philadelphia, and that it represented a new day in Frisco. Which is fine, unless it doesn’t work. If it went sideways, the front office would be criticized for making another failed coaching hire. That they didn’t full understand what the job required, they spent too much money, or some other (likely valid) excuse.

That would be the case for any big name hire that came in and didn’t work, because ultimately it’s not about how ambitious the hire. It’s about that person delivering the desired results, which for FC Dallas has been absent since 2016. Until those results appear, no hire will be good enough. They could get Pep to leave Man City, hire a YMCA volunteer youth coach, or anything in between and unless they won it’d be wrong.

If you’re worried about ambition when it comes to Quill, I urge you to put that aside. It’s wasted mental energy and will only detract from the actual goal: winning games and trophies. That’s what Quill is focused on, which he told FC Dallas’ Garrett Melcer:

“I’m just truly excited to lead this storied club, that I played for, to a championship,” Quill told FCDallas.com. “That's what I'm here to do. And I'm not afraid to say that word. It's one that I want players to understand, when I walk through the door, this is why we're playing: for a championship.”

That’s the kind of ambition I’m looking for myself. Let’s talk about how he’ll go about accomplishing it.

Quill’s on field style

In the same piece quoted above, Quill also talks about what he intends on bringing to the pitch:

“My style is to be very bold and aggressive going forward. I want to get to goal as fast as possible. We want to be aggressive and not just be safe, but aggressive while understanding that guys need to be working behind the ball when it's turned over so we're organized and relentless in our pursuit for the ball.

“I want entertaining soccer. I want to be entertained just like the fans want to be entertained. So we want to score a bunch of goals and make the fans proud.”

Looking at his 2024 New Mexico United squad, you’d be forgiven if you think those words ring a bit hollow results wise. While NMU did top their conference in the regular season, they did so scoring only 46 goals which was 7th in USL-C per FBRef (the official USL-C stats page is broken, so apologies if the numbers are off). The leading scorer for NMU, striker Greg Hurst, had 12 goals with two other players posting five apiece.

The underlying numbers tell a different story. NMU was 4th in the league in shots on target, first in shots on target percentage, and tied for fifth in goals per shot. That indicates that the team was in good position to score, but didn’t always finish the job. Quill replicating that style with more polished finishers like Petar Musa, Jesus Ferreira, Logan Farrington, and others should yield more goals.

As to what the formation will look like, Quill consistently ran a 4-2-3-1 at New Mexico regardless of competition. The forward line was active, with all four players making runs towards the box in attack. Transition was important for those squads, putting opposing defenses on their heels and making them work. It’s a high effort, big time work rate style Quill will look to impose on this FC Dallas team.

This consistency of setup should come as a welcome change for Dallas supporters who saw their squad in flux over the last season and a half or so. Chief Soccer Officer Andre Zanotta at the season ending press conference did mention he and the front office team wanted whoever was coach to have the players to play any formation they wanted. That goal will be easier to accomplish when the manager will primarily use a single formation, with commonly utilized positions at that.

In FC Dallas 2025 Part 3 the first formation we broke down was a 4-2-3-1, so let’s reference that here when it comes to the parts the Toros already have:

Right off the bat Dallas’ front four will be a problem for the opposition. Musa can stay in that 18 yard box area where he found success in 2024, and the three players under him can interchange as needed in play. All three attacking mids being able to both score and feed will mean opposing defenses are going to have nightmares figuring out the attack.

The bench options are also strong in this regard. Farrington can spell Musa, Bernard Kamungo can return to his wing position that found him success in 2023, and Tsiki Ntsabeleng becomes the natural backup for Alan Velasco. Tarik Scott could see some time at either striker or winger, if Pedrinho has impressed enough with NTSC he could also. Dallas is well covered up front, and it’s easy to call it the strength of the squad.

Moving backwards down the pitch, the midfield is more a question mark. Above listed is Paxton Pomykal and Sebastian Lletget as starters. Paxton is expected to be ready in 2025, but with 9-12 months as the recovery period that could mean he’s ready during camp or that he’ll miss the first part of 2025. The hope is he recovers quickly, but it’s unlikely the club will rush him.

That likely lines up Manuel Cafumana a.k.a. Show as the opening day starter next to Lleget in this case. His short tenure in Dallas at season’s end was promising enough that him starting while Paxton recovers won’t be too troublesome. With the understanding that Dallas is also still negotiating with Asier Illarramendi, there’s options in midfield even if you’d still like Dallas to sign a bona fide walk in starter.

As for Lletget, his monster 2024 came less as a 6 and more as an 8 and at times even further up the field than that. While I don’t doubt he’ll play anywhere, that’s the kind of player he is, one could argue whether he’ll be as effective in this role. If he’s the forward man in a true double pivot, it’s likely not an issue. If not, more questions arise. Lletget’s deal is up at the end of 2025 with an option, so the long term sustainability is a question as well.

Youth could play a role here with Nolan Norris, Diego Garcia, and Anthony Ramirez all ready for more time with the senior team. Considering Quill has a knack for player development, he may want fill his depth chart less with seasoned veterans and more with prospect players. Time will tell, but unlike the attack center pitch remains more a mystery.

The presumed back four is the weakest point, split almost down the middle. Quill’s style seemingly bodes well for both Marco Farfan and Nkosi Tafari. Farfan is a tenacious defender whose effort and resilience will fit the high tempo Quill demands. Meanwhile Tafari’s recovery speed and size makes him a great asset for how the new gaffer will want to set up. If Quill can help Tafari take the next step in his development with consistency and decision making, Dallas will have the #1 center back they desire.

Dallas’ right side however leaves more to be desired. Sebastian Ibeagha had a decent run down the stretch in 2024, but will be 33 in January. You’d love him as your third center back, but as a starter he probably isn’t of the quality needed to get where Dallas should want to be. It feels correct to assume that if/hopefully when FCD brings in a center back this winter, Ibeagha will be the one replaced in the eleven.

If an internal solution you seek, look no further than Carl Sainté. He’d give Dallas a second ball handling center back who has good size, strong passing, and youth to boot. He’d give Quill some flexibility, as the pair would be one of the most mobile duos in MLS. Same with Nolan Norris, although he has seemingly transitioned to midfielder full time in Frisco. Between the two Sainté would be my choice if Quill is picking from his current roster.

Right back is another spot Dallas should address this offseason. While Sam Junqua has played over there at times, his best utilization has been as Farfan’s deputy on the left side. Slotting him back over there means Dallas’ current best option is probably Herbert Endeley, although he played wing back at NTSC. The injury status of Geovane Jesus is unknown, and while the club negotiates with Ruan still the position remains a bit barren. Outside of Endeley, there’s no obvious prospect that could seize that place.

At goalkeeper Dallas is still rock solid overall. Maarten Paes is on track to return in 2025 as of this writing, with more international experience under his belt. He’ll look to improve on his worst MLS season, although that’s a slight misnomer since Paes has been outstanding since arriving in 2022.

Where things get murky is behind Paes. Jimmy Maurer is out of contract, and per the Washington Post’s Steven Goff has talked with D.C. United about a deal. Assuming Maurer’s tenure is done, Antonio Carrera is next up on the depth chart. That brings up the question of how much you want Carrera playing next season as he continues his development path. NTSC seems not enough a challenge, meaning the next step would be another loan to USL-C after a failed 2024 stint in North Carolina if you want Carrera in net full-time.

If Carrera does go out on loan, one path you could take is make Michael Collodi the backup while he continues on as the NTSC starter. There’s enough overlap in the schedule that Collodi could do both. Yes, the reigning MLS Next Pro Goalkeeper of the Year is slightly undersized. It’s hard to argue with results however, and as a backup you could do worse. On days when Collodi couldn’t play for the second team, someone like Nico Montoya could take the reigns. Montoya is a well thought of academy prospect who was signed out of Ohio with plenty of growth left.

The more realistic option is a loan for Carrera with assurance of full time action and Dallas either brings back Maurer or signs another veteran behind Paes. That would probaly be the more sustainable path both short and long term. If something happened to Paes or the backup, you could re-call Carrera who would be well in form. There’s minimal if any sense in worry about what happens with two injuries, as that’ll have the team in disaster area.

First season expectations

After missing the playoffs in 2024, Quill enters the squad at a natural crest in enthusiasm and expectations. That said, there’s zero reason for everyone involved with FC Dallas to expect a playoff berth in 2025 full stop. Under Luccin, the team put in a good challenge for a spot but couldn’t overcome the first half hole.

With a more consistent tactical messaging and (hopefully) a couple of critical additions Dallas should see postseason soccer again. That doesn’t necessarily mean a top four spot, but more than good enough to avoid the play-in. That’s the minimum, and anything less will be a failure. Quill has set that standard in his own words cited above. He wants to raise the bar, and holding everyone to that expectation will be critical.

All of it won’t be on Quill however. It’s reasonable to say the on field product will be better with Quill, but without the right parts his job is only but so doable. The front office needs to do their part by getting Quill the depth and skill he needs to pay off their faith in him.

If ever there was a time to invest in a coach, it is now. Quill is the prodigal son coming home to a league where half the teams in each conference play past Halloween. The salary space after an exodus of previous players is there, and the core of the club is as strong as ever. Every coaching change for a club is pivotal, but this one feels particularly momentous for Dallas. Success means a new era of prosperity for Dallas. Failure means there’s minimal if any reason to believe that the club will reach the promised land under this administration. That’s a thought supporers shudder to consider, and hopefully with this new coach it won’t be necessary.

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