FC Dallas got their man.
Today, Dallas announced Eric Quill as their new Head Coach. And he really is their man.
A Texas native, Quill suited up for the Dallas Burn during his playing days and, more pertinently, successfully led FCD’s second team North Texas SC to a championship in 2019.
“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.”
Quill’s championship pedigree is well documented around these parts. He helped build North Texas SC from the ground up and led a group of teenagers to the USL League One title (third division) in their first season – winning Coach of the Year along the way. After three seasons, Quill moved up to the MLS level as an assistant with the Columbus Crew before embarking on his second head coaching gig with New Mexico United in the USL Championship, the division just below MLS.
With New Mexico this year, Quill led the club to its best-ever season with a first-place finish in Western Conference while setting records for wins (18) and points (59), earning him another USL Coach of the Year nomination.
“After my time in Dallas and Columbus, I got to take what I absorbed for five years and take it to New Mexico and apply all the knowledge from those opportunities. I went there in a moment when the team wasn’t where they wanted to be and was able to turn it around and turn it into a powerhouse this year—which was really gratifying. It was an amazing year-and-a-half experience to be in New Mexico with these great people, but it's all in preparation for what’s next, and that’s FC Dallas.”
Aside from his ability to build a winning culture, Quill’s belief in player development aligns closely with FC Dallas’ club ethos. During his time with Texans SC (a Houston-area youth club) and North Texas SC, Quill has given opportunities to future U.S. internationals Chris Richards, Ricardo Pepi, Bryan Reynolds and Tanner Tessmann as well current FCD players Nkosi Tafari and Bernard Kamungo (the latter whom he scouted from an open tryout).
“I believe in player development, I believe in young players,” Quill explained. “FC Dallas does that better than everybody else, in my opinion. I'm a big believer in what we can do with our youth, especially with the talent within those walls and all over state of Texas and beyond. That’s going to be a big movement under my leadership so that we get back to bringing young players into our first team culture and into the fabric of FC Dallas.”
Stylistically, Quill’s teams play on the front foot and favor attacking soccer – as any watchers of North Texas SC’s “Quill-Ball” will know.
“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.”
A son of the club now armed with outside experience, Quill is perfectly placed to lead FC Dallas into the future. He knows the mission, he understands the philosophy, now he has the opportunity.
“The Hunt family has invested in me multiple times now and I just really want to repay the favor and the belief by bringing the first MLS Cup to Dallas. And we need our fans in order to do that. I've paid close attention since I've been gone, I’ve seen the sellout crowds and the support. I want them to feel our soccer is worth the price of admission and make them fall in love with who we are.
“That’s the whole goal, to make them proud.”
