Nashville SC are in the midst of a roster overhaul, the biggest change the club has gone through since building their first roster for their 2020 MLS expansion season.
Broadway Sports Media‘s Valair Shabilla spoke with General Manager Mike Jacobs about the rebuilding process and what to expect from the club in 2025. Check out part one with BJ Callaghan here.
Valair Shabilla: Is Nashville SC 2.0 considered a full rebuild?
Mike Jacobs: I use this quote from Alex Ferguson, he said, “no matter how good your group is, in most cases, you probably have to rotate your group maybe every four years,” and it’s probably something that needed to happen.
I think when you have a team that is going to the playoffs and competing for Leagues Cup, you want to kind of be able to kind of see it together and give guys a chance to keep doing what they’re doing. But the reality is, you need to kind of have an influx and infusion of new talent, of younger talent.
And we saw it this past season with BJ [Callaghan], on multiple occasions, he had three U22s in the field with Patrick Yazbek, Julian Gaines, Jonny Pérez. The reality is that any good team is doing that. So for us, whether it’s in year six or year five, it’s just something that has to happen.
VS: What went into the decision to decline the options for Aníbal Godoy and Brian Anunga?
MJ: Look, I remember last year talking about guys like Dax McCarty and what happened to them. To me, I try to be very matter-of-fact and treat it like business as usual. But the reality is, he did nothing wrong, but just got older.
So for someone like Aníbal, he is my favorite player I’ve ever worked with. He’s done nothing wrong other than just he’s five years older than we first got him. I think he’s a tremendous leader who loves our club so much. And I think the reality is that I think if he had not gotten five years older, he would still get a chance to keep doing what he’s doing.
In Brian’s [Anunga] case, he’s also been in the club five years and just in the right time for him to get more of an opportunity and do that elsewhere.
VS: What is the difference between recruiting players for BJ Callaghan compared to Gary Smith?
MJ: Rather than talk about the previous managers, what they did or didn’t do, everyone’s different. And like I mentioned earlier, we had a clear picture of the game model we wanted to play with.
And the reference I’ve used a couple times is like if Brentford beats Liverpool 1-0, Brentford fans are very excited. If Liverpool beats Brentford 1-0, Liverpool fans are up in arms, they only won 1-0.
And I think in our first four seasons, we were able to grind out results against anybody. I think for us, we want to be more expansive and we want to have a model and be more sustainable. And that’s something that helped us in identifying who the next manager was. For us, knowing that we wanted to play a certain style and BJ is the manager, we needed to find the right kind of players to fit that.
Because of that game model and what BJ is doing, we had to take inventory of the guys we’re looking at and get an idea of which guys can do that and which guys can’t. It’s less based on what BJ wants and more about how our game model is evolving. Ultimately, there are guys who are able to do that and kind of keep moving forward, and there are guys who won’t and they just won’t be able to be part of the group.
VS: As a General Manager, is it exciting for you to build a different team than what you are used to?
MJ: Honestly, probably since 2019 it’s the most exciting that it has been. Think about the opportunity we have to evolve and grow and change the personnel we have as our model changes. It’s been an exciting time for Nashville SC fans, and for me it’s super exciting.
VS: How quickly is success expected from Nashville SC 2.0?
MJ: We talk about how we’re going to define success, and for us, we want to be sustainable from the standpoint that we’re always competing and pursuing cups.
In our first four seasons, we were over the line each year, and we were in the playoffs. I think for us, not only do we want to continue to get back to doing that consistently, we want to pursue silverware. We want to go for it.
To do that, we need to have the right kind of players, the right kind of game model, and I think it’s a process. I think an outcome is just simply wins and losses. The process is how you win, how you go about doing that, and I think we have the right process in place. Whether it’s two matches, two months, or two seasons, we’re really excited about the direction we’re going.
VS: Do you feel like there’s more pressure on the club now than previously?
MJ: Pressure is self-imposed, you know, I think you put it on yourself and it’s how you respond to that. I think that expectations each year you get in the postseason, people expect more and more.
For me, I mean, no one expects more of that than I do, so I don’t feel any more pressure than I put on myself. But I think the reality is, we want to be somewhere where there’s expectations of pursuing championships. So for us, whether it’s changed or heightened, that’s no different than it’s always been from our standpoint.
