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FOXBOROUGH, MA –Following Monday’s announcement of updates to the New England Revolution’s sporting department leadership, Revolution President Brian Bilello, Senior VP of Soccer Operations Curt Onalfo, and General Manager / Chief Soccer Officer Chris Tierney were available in a press conference to discuss the front office restructure.
Revolution President Brian Bilello, Senior VP of Soccer Operations Curt Onalfo, and General Manager / Chief Soccer Officer Chris Tierney address the media.
The press conference opened with remarks from Revolution President Brian Bilello, who explained the reasoning behind the club’s front office restructuring.
He said, “I want to start out by saying that over the last 20 years, but more specifically in the last five, our league continues to grow, become more complex, and more involved at all levels of the game. Not just the senior level, but in our pro pathways. What we’re trying to do there, not just locally, but recruiting kids from other parts of this country. [We are] using our second team to bring in players from other countries as well as this country. Something that Curt [Onalfo] and I have talked about over the years is how do we continue to position our organization to be the best we can be at all levels of the organization. How do we continue to get better? How do we think about league initiatives, what they’re doing, what our league rules are, how those are modified, and how do we use those to take the most advantage of making our team as competitive as possible?”
“In that process, and most recently, we got to talking about Chris [Tierney] a little bit. I’ve known Chris for a very long time as a player here for the Revolution for many years. Then, we were fortunate enough to be able to bring him on board in a capacity in our front office, working on player personnel matters. Over the last few years, Chris has really flourished in that role. I think those of you who are involved with soccer, understand the sport, and know people in the sport, Chris’ stock has risen pretty dramatically over the last few years. I think it was something that both myself and Curt got us thinking about how we could figure out a way to retain Chris, knowing his capabilities and his ability to lead an organization.”
“To have Curt have the ability to sit back a little bit, obviously be focused on many things in our club, but also think about what we’re doing to move forward, and how we remain competitive in all those areas. Then Chris, with his talents and ability to really take hold of everything on our first team side and make sure that we’re being competitive every single year to win MLS Cups.”
Bilello also emphasized that retaining Tierney was a key priority, noting that he had become one of the league’s most sought-after executives. He revealed that Onalfo was the one who first recommended promoting Tierney to General Manager and Chief Soccer Officer.
President Brian Bilello credits Curt Onalfo for advocating the promotion of Chris Tierney to General Manager and Chief Soccer Officer.
“I do want to thank Curt [Onalfo] for coming to me with an idea of how we could figure out a way to grow our organization, continue to be not… pic.twitter.com/8FKuKSnKpb
— Caleb Pongratz (@CalebPongratz10) June 30, 2026
In his opening remarks, Curt Onalfo said he is excited to begin his new role as the Revolution’s Senior Vice President of Soccer and to help guide the club’s long-term vision.
Expanding on his new responsibilities, Onalfo said the role will allow him to devote more time to strengthening the club beyond the first team, with a particular emphasis on the Revolution’s academy and player development pathway.
He said, “I look forward to continuing to build on the foundation of a lot of hard work and a lot of really great things,” Onalfo said. “I also look forward to putting my energy into other things and the renewed focus on our academy. I think we can do better in that space and in our pro pathway. Then, really just being able to focus on making sure that we’re good for the long haul. I’m really excited about this opportunity.”
He added, “I talk a lot about energy, and the first team takes an awful lot of it. The amount of time and energy that needs to be put on the first team is enormous. So now, with Chris [Tierney] focusing on that, it frees up some of my time to leverage it to work on other things that can expand our club. There is so much to be done, and so much to be enhanced. We already have a good pro pathway, but we can be better. We have a methodology Chris is talking about, what Marko [Mitrović] is putting into the first team. We have to make sure that that works all the way through with the vertical integration of the methodology. Those are some of the things I will focus on.”
Onalfo also explained why he believed Tierney was the right person to lead the club’s sporting department.
He said, “The best organizations hire really good people. In the case of Chris, he has superior intelligence. He was a professional athlete and he’s super bright. He’s very motivated, he’s eager. He has all the attributes to continue to get better. He’s been very laser-focused on lots of things. He’s great with contracts.”
“It’s funny, I had a conversation with Robert Kraft yesterday. He’s incredible in so many ways, but whenever Robert speaks, I listen. He has built an incredible empire. The words are so wise. When I was in the suite with him yesterday, he said, ‘We have to make sure that we always have closers.’ And he’s right. Chris is a closer. He’s great at getting deals done. He was instrumental in bringing Matt Turner here. It was a very complicated situation, and he just navigated through it in an incredibly graceful way. So, that’s a little bit of insight into Chris.”
Onalfo added that Tierney’s promotion reflects the organization’s long-term commitment to developing talent both on and off the field.
He said, “For me, the best organizations have a pathway, and they’re not stagnant. I believe in people. That’s how I manage. We have a building full of great people that all have potential. I looked into the future and thought there would be a good chance that Chris wouldn’t be with us come January. For me, I’ve been working on this for a while. I just felt like it’s the right thing for our organization. Certain people just belong, right? Chris, like he said, played for the club, he’s been with the club, he’s from Boston. It just made sense to me, in the short-term and long-term, on how we can build something sustainable. My job now is to make sure throughout the organization that the way in which we’re going to play, we’ll make sure that we match it from top to bottom. That takes a lot of work. We could be at the office every single night until 10 p.m. It just never ends. So, we’re dividing and conquering. We have great people and there’s a pathway, and this is evidence of it.”
Senior Vice President of Soccer Operations Curt Onalfo on how his day-to-day role changes & how involved he will remain in first-team roster decisions compared to overseeing the broader soccer operations and Pro Pathway:
“I talk a lot about energy. The first team takes an awful… pic.twitter.com/gbcxLGDffx
— Caleb Pongratz (@CalebPongratz10) June 30, 2026
Chris Tierney opened his remarks by thanking Bilello and Onalfo for their support and collaboration in helping prepare him for the opportunity.
He said, “I joined the Revolution as a 21-year-old kid in 2008 and was honored to wear the badge as a player for 11 seasons. I have amazing memories here as a player and really built a connection here. It’s my hometown. It’s the club I grew up as a supporter of. I’ve always been a fan of this club. To be able to continue to contribute to this club in a meaningful way is a responsibility that I certainly don’t take lightly.
“I’m extremely optimistic about the near and long-term future of this club. I think we have really taken steps to move this club forward to be a perennial contender, with our goal always to be competing in meaningful games at the end of the season. And those are ambitions that we’re comfortable stating openly. Our head coach, Marko Mitrović, is very ambitious as well, and we look forward to continuing to drive the Revolution into the next iteration of MLS.”
When asked what it means to lead the club he grew up supporting and spent his entire playing career with, Tierney said, “It means a lot. It probably got a little tiresome for [the media] speaking to me as a player, talking about what this club means to me, but it’s hard to get away from. I’ve been a Revolution fan as long as I can remember. I remember coming to the old Foxboro Stadium, sitting on the aluminum benches, and idolizing all the guys on the team. To be able to continue and have the run that I’ve had at this club as a player, now the opportunity to work here as an executive – the responsibility of this role is not lost on me. I don’t expect any extra leeway being a former player here. We have to deliver on our goals. I’m willing to accept the pressure and consequences that come with that. I’m really excited for the opportunity.”
Tierney also credited the mentors and executives who have helped shape his career and prepare him for the role.
He said, “In any industry, when you start a career, you’re a product of the mentors that you have. Curt has certainly been a great one for me, Brian as well. I’ve leaned on many executives around the league that I’m friendly with. You try to take a little bit of everything from people you admire, people you think have good ideas around the league. I’ve certainly tried to increase my capacity to learn, to study the industry, and understand what works and what doesn’t in our league.
“I do think that quite often former players end up in these roles and sometimes that’s just something that former players say to corner the market. But I do think there’s value in knowing what it’s like to be a player. We have such unique challenges in this league in terms of travel, playing on different surfaces, style of play. Our league is very unique, and I think there is value in having experience as a player. In terms of the specific roles, I have gotten to see all different levels of our organization. Again, I’ve had some really good mentors that I think are really high-level operators. I’ve just tried to soak in as much as I can from all my time here.”
General Manager and Chief Soccer Officer Chris Tierney on how each position within the New England Revolution organization has prepared him for his new role & additionally what lessons he’s learned from working alongside Curt Onalfo:
“Yeah, I think when you start a career in… pic.twitter.com/uSlRxOAjn0
— Caleb Pongratz (@CalebPongratz10) June 30, 2026
With the front office changes now in place, President Brian Bilello said the club’s immediate focus is turning its strong position into silverware.
He said, “The club will now shift its focus to the short term, which is just filling up the trophy cabinet. How you do that? I’ll leave that to [Curt Onalfo and Chris Tierney] to talk to, but that’s certainly the goal. We’re in a strong position right now. Marko [Mitrović] is doing a great job on that side. We have some opportunities this summer to improve the team which we’re going to try and take.”
Tierney said his first priority in his new role is navigating the club through the summer transfer window, with the objective of emerging from the window with a stronger roster than the one the Revolution entered it with.
New England currently operates under the league’s two Designated Player and four U22 Initiative player model, leaving the club with an open Designated Player slot entering the summer transfer window.
Asked about that flexibility, Tierney said, “I think the way we think about our Designated Player spots going forward, of course in collaboration with Marko [Mitrović], is that we’re going to bring a player in that we feel is a perfect fit for us. That includes the on-field product, it includes the players’ capabilities and what they can provide us, but again, it has to be the correct cultural fit for us. He has to fit into the expectations and the standards of our club. We’re evaluating a number of options to bring in a Designated Player this summer, and our hope and expectation is to be able to do that.”
Tierney also discussed the club’s efforts to retain goalkeeper Matt Turner beyond his current loan spell.
He said, “Anytime there’s one of these transactions – Matt is a Lyon player currently. We are in conversations with them to try to find a deal that satisfies all parties. You have Lyon, you have [New England], and you have Matt, and I think a deal has to make sense for all three of those parties in order for it to work. We are working diligently to make that happen. We would certainly love to have Matt here long term. Like I said, I think it’s plain to see his quality on the field. But what Matt brings to our locker room, our dressing room, the standards that he sets for our group, have been critical, especially in this transition with Marko [Mitrović] coming in. We’re certainly going to make the best efforts to keep Matt here.”
New England Revolution Logo. Image Courtesy of New England Revolution.
Marko Mitrović and the New England Revolution (8-1-5, 25 pts.) return home to face Eastern Conference side Toronto FC (3-5-6, 14 pts.). The match is set to kickoff at Gillette Stadium on Saturday, July 22nd at 7:30 p.m. ET on MLS Season Pass on the Apple TV app.
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(Editor’s Note: For more of Burt Granofsky’s photos, click on the link)
