It's December. MLS teams are a month into their offseason. And while we hear word of other teams scouting, be it in college ranks, or in South America, all is quiet in Metro land. Sure, there have been some moves, like the trade of Clint Mathis to LA, the loss of Joe Vide during the expansion draft, and of Blake Camp to waivers. But it's been all quiet since.

Of course, the main reason for that is that Metro is the only team in the league currently without a head coach. Since Bruce Arena's dismissal, we've heard names. Red Bull has talked to some, and has dismissed others. As of this point, we are not closer to having a replacement for Bruce Arena that we were a month ago. (Of course, for all we know, with all their secrecy, Red Bull might surprise us all and announce a new head coach this afternoon. But that's not likely.)

So who is in charge of the ship? Well, Marc de Grandpre made it clear that all decisions will be his. But de Grandpre is not a soccer man, so when Arena was fired, he made it clear that the soccer decisions that are to be made until a new head man was found will be done by Technical Director Jeff Agoos. Outgoing Technical Director Jeff Agoos. Arena hiree Jeff Agoos.

An interesting situation, really. When Red Bull took over, they split the management of the team into directors. De Grandpre is Managing Director; Arena was Sporting Director, and Agoos is Technical Director. That last "is" is a technicality; according to de Grandpre, that position will be eliminated for next season. Agoos, however, would be considering for the now vacant Sporting Director spot, a spot which no longer be taken by the head coach (it's pretty obvious that Red Bull was not happy with the amount of power Arena had).

Of course, saying that Agoos would be considered for a Sporting Director slot is not saying much. For one, de Grandpre supposedly wants to move away from anyone with ties to Arena, and few have more ties than Agoos, Bruce's player in college, pros, and the national team. (Two others who fill that description are assistant coaches Richie Williams and John Harkes -- minus the national team for the latter.) Of course, it's possible that de Grandpre will look beyond that and Agoos would get the Sporting Director job. Who knows.

So where are we? Player contracts expire at the end of December. The SuperDraft is just a month away. There are many important personnel decisions to be made. There is no head coach, no Sporting Director, and a lame duck Technical Director. How much longer can Metro go on in this state?