Should Klopas stay on as Fire coach?

Fire's Frank Klopas -- Getty Images

By Charlie Corr
ESPNChicago.com

BRIDGEVIEW, Ill. -- The Chicago Fire have not exactly established continuity with their head coach over the past five seasons. Five different coaches have been at the helm since the start of the 2007 season.

With the Fire's 2011 season in the books, the focus once again turns toward the sidelines, where Fire technical director and interim head coach Frank Klopas posted an 8-5-10 record after replacing Carlos de los Cobos.

Chicago missed the playoffs for a second straight season, but the team rebounded in the final third of the campaign to climb close to the postseason picture.

So will Fire management remove the interim tag and keep Klopas as the head coach? Will he focus squarely on the technical side while the organization once again goes through the routine of an extensive coaching search?

Fire personnel certainly feel that the right person for the job already is in place with Klopas.

"There's nobody else who should be in that position," Fire defender Cory Gibbs said. "I don't say that just as a player when I speak the truth. I think he interacts with the team well. And he has a lot of heart and a lot of passion. He gets us ready for games. What more do you want from a coach? We're the ones playing, and we just have to follow his guidance and go out there."

Read more at ESPNChicago.com.