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Here are 3 early keys to success for new Nashville SC coach B.J. Callaghan
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- Here are 3 early keys to success for new Nashville SC coach B.J. Callaghan
B.J. Callaghan knows he doesn't have much time to put his stamp on Nashville SC before the club hits the final stretch of its season. But that doesn't mean he isn't trying.
"We were able to come in with a clear plan and clear identity," said Callaghan, who officially began as Nashville's coach on July 22 and will make his coaching debut Wednesday against Mazatlán in the Leagues Cup. "We look at our identity as the way we play on the field, but also how we act off the field. When those two things get merged together, we'll be able to put consistent performances in.
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"We're looking at Leagues Cup as the window of time to really develop our identity and continue to get better. The best way to do that is play as many games as you can. So the idea is to continue to advance at that. But when we enter MLS when it resumes, that's when we really want to start to be the best version of ourselves."
Callaghan, a former United States men's national team assistant, takes over a Nashville team that's in danger of missing the postseason for the first time in its history. Nashville (6-11-8, 26 points) sits in 12th in the Eastern Conference, two points outside the playoffs, and will have just nine games to make up that gap once it resumes its regular season against Austin FC on Aug. 24.
Callaghan has lots of work ahead of him in turning Nashville, which comes into the Leagues Cup on a franchise-record six-game losing streak, into the best version of itself. But there are a few things he can do to start off:
Get Hany Mukhtar back in form
At his introductory news conference July 26, Callaghan called his style of play "controlled aggression." His Nashville teams, in an ideal world, will be able to dictate the tempo, disorganize opposing defenses and create scoring chances by playing with the ball. It's a far cry from what Nashville has been able to do this season under former coach Gary Smith and interim coach Rumba Munthali, and it has to start with its best player.
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Hany Mukhtar, just two seasons removed from a 23-goal campaign which ended with him holding the MLS MVP trophy, hasn't scored a goal from open play in over three months. Mukhtar's 13 goal contributions (five goals, eight assists) in league play have him on pace for his least-productive season since his first in Nashville.
While Callaghan doesn't necessarily care who scores goals as long as they're scored, any improvement in Nashville's attack requires a return to form for Mukhtar.
"It's no secret that Hany's a key player for us," Callaghan said. "... It's our job as coaches to put our players in positions to score goals, but overarching what we're all about is the collective. We're not about one player."
Incorporate Patrick Yazbek
Nashville's only move so far in the summer transfer window has been the signing of Patrick Yazbek , a 22-year-old midfielder from Norwegian club Viking. The Australian international, who NSC acquired for a transfer fee of $3.2 million, should go a long way in solving the club's biggest issue: progressing the ball through the center of the field.
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General manager Mike Jacobs targeted Yazbek while also conducting his coaching search, and in doing so tried to "make sure he was someone B.J. felt fit into what he was looking to do." Now, Callaghan must figure out how to best utilize the versatile box-to-box midfielder on the field, while helping him acclimate to MLS and the United States off of it.
"When you talk to Patrick, he's a guy who's motivated and has big ambitions," Callaghan said. "It's never easy to transition into a new country, a new culture, a new league. We're gonna do everything that we can to smooth that transition process for him."
MORE: Why Nashville SC believes new coach B.J. Callaghan is the perfect fit
Improve set-piece defending
Nashville has already given up seven more goals in 2024 than it did all of last season, having allowed 39 in 25 matches. While injuries and international duty have been culprits at times, a brutal performance on set pieces has done just as much to transform NSC from a top-tier defense to a middle-of-the-pack unit.
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Nashville gave up six goals from dead-ball scenarios during a five-game stretch from June 29 to July 17, losing all of those games.
Set-piece defending was one of Callaghan's main duties as an assistant with the Philadelphia Union from 2014-18. While the defense will improve greatly when Walker Zimmerman , who has missed the team's last three games while playing at the Olympics, returns, Callaghan will still need to use his expertise to get Nashville's defense back on track.
Jacob Shames can be reached by email at jshames@gannett.com and on Twitter @Jacob_Shames.
This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Nashville SC: B.J. Callaghan's keys to success
