With the club announcing today a new long-term contract extension for head coach Caleb Porter, here's a look at some of his accomplishments in his first three years at the helm in the Rose City.
-- Porter won the 2013 MLS Coach of the Year in his first season in the league helping engineer a 23-point improvement in points and an MLS-record 43-goal improvement in goal differential over the previous season.
-- He led the Timbers to the MLS Cup Playoffs in two of his three years at the helm, winning the MLS Cup in 2015.
-- Porter also led the Timbers to their first-ever appearance in the CONCACAF Champions League in 2014-15. He will once again bring Portland to the CCL in 2016-17.
-- In his first 100 career MLS games as a head coach, Porter tied San Jose’s Dominic Kinnear for fewest losses over that span (25) in league history.
-- With a winning percentage of .570 in his first 100 games, Porter is eighth overall all-time among MLS coaches in their first 100 games and fourth among active coaches behind LA's Bruce Arena (62-37-1 – .625), Seattle's Sigi Schmid (52-33-15 – .595) and Kinnear (.575). All-time, only 31 coaches have reached the century mark in games coached in MLS.
-- Over the last three years, Portland’s combined point total (159) ranks as the fourth most in MLS, behind only the New York Red Bulls (169), Seattle Sounders FC (167) and LA Galaxy (165).
-- In 2015, Portland finished the regular season with an MLS-club-record 15 wins, while also tying for the league lead in shutouts (13). On the road, the Timbers finished the 2015 season tied for the most road wins (7) in the league.
-- Porter and the Timbers finished the 2015 season on a nine-game unbeaten run across all competitions culminating in an MLS Cup victory—Portland’s first in the club’s 40-year history.
-- Porter is one of four head coaches to win an NCAA national championship and an MLS Cup. Porter completed the feat at the age of 40, which made him the youngest coach of the four to accomplish the championship double.
-- In his first three seasons as a professional manager, Porter has won both an MLS Cup and been named MLS Coach of the Year. The only other head coaches to accomplish both those feats in their first three years in MLS are Bruce Arena, Bob Bradley, Bob Gansler, Frank Yallop, and Dominic Kinnear.
-- Over the last three regular seasons, Portland is third in the league in goals with 156, second in shots (1417), and second in shots on goal (504).
-- The Timbers have the most shutouts in MLS in last three seasons with 35.
-- Porter is the first Timbers manager (all eras) to lead his side to a league's semifinals in multiple seasons (2013, 2015) and the only manager to lead the Timbers to a league title.
Mike Donovan contributed to this story.
