Two weeks on from the announcement of Miguel Herrera's dismissal as Mexico coach, it appears we aren't any closer to a definitive answer as to who will take over. The panorama seems even more complicated now, although the Mexican football federation (FMF) has remained stoically silent.
Queretaro coach Victor Manuel Vucetich is still, on paper, by far the best domestic option, but it seems that his return is a distant dream. One of the most successful coaches in the history of the Mexican game, Vucetich was famously hired for the last two games of World Cup qualifying in 2013 and was then let go to make way for Herrera, who steered El Tri past New Zealand and into the World Cup via the November playoff.
That episode provides one of the starkest and most public examples of the ills and short-sightedness of Mexican soccer. Even so, there was always the chance (and hope for many) that the federation could beg forgiveness, come crawling back to Vucetich and persuade him that they had changed their ways. But after what the 58-year-old said on Monday, that isn't likely.
"It is said that to coach the national team should be a source of pride," Vucetich told ESPN FC. "However, right now many people don't want to coach it. Why? It is very interesting why many coaches don't want to go there."
He explained: "It is obvious that interests supersede the sporting situation. That makes [the federation] take rushed and not thought-out decisions."
From a coach not prone to seek attention or criticize without reason, such words will ring like a loud warning siren for anyone with a passing interest in the job. Vucetich clearly feels the post is toxic. With the No. 1 target Marcelo Bielsa (a free agent after resigning from Marseille) apparently ruling himself out of the running after barely considering the position, attention has turned to his successor with the Chilean national team, Jorge Sampaoli.
Negotiations have already taken place between Guillermo Cantu and Argentine Sampaoli, according to reports, although the reported price to buy out his contract with Chile is steep and his federation is adamant he is going nowhere.
Sampaoli would be a top option if he can be persuaded to leave Chile. There are clear similarities with previous Mexico coach Herrera on the field. Both play attacking, possession-based and vertical soccer, with a defensive line of three center-backs and a high pressing game.
What makes the search somewhat surreal is that Cantu (a former Mexico international and still president of second division side Necaxa) is apparently negotiating. Officially, new FMF president Decio de Maria's friend Cantu is not part of the Mexican federation, even if widespread reports suggest he will be named to some authoritative position shortly. Still, it doesn't fill one with confidence if these reports are correct. And you can't imagine that someone as suspicious of directors as Bielsa would be thrilled to enter negotiations with a person who doesn't yet have an official position in the federation.
The 18 Liga MX clubs, who all have a say in who is the next Mexico coach, will also have their own priorities, further preventing any decisive decision-making and planning.
Even if time is of the essence -- El Tri plays Trinidad & Tobago and Argentina early next month and then Oct. 10 Confederation Cup qualifier against the United States -- perhaps what the FMF needs to do is come out with some substantive statements about how it is going to change moving forward. The primary issue is how to assure that 14 head coaches since 1999 doesn't become 16, 17 or 18 by the time Russia 2018 comes around. The FMF need to be 100 percent sure that they get the right coaching team and stick with them.
Coming out publicly to guarantee the non-interference in the national team by Liga MX club owners, and the coach's freedom to make key decisions both on and off the field, should be a minimum requirement. Corruption, shadiness and scandal in world football are in the spotlight and Mexico should seize the opportunity for more openness.
It may seem like a naïve idea but these changes have to start somewhere and they might as well be implemented three years from the next World Cup. Doing so would send a clear message to Bielsa, Vucetich and Sampaoli that there is at least the prospect of real change that could allow them to impose a long-term visions on El Tri.
One candidate willing to accept the status quo might be Chiapas coach Ricardo La Volpe but despite guiding El Tri to the 2006 World Cup round of 16, the Argentine's career has had more lows than highs. He was also fired from Chivas in April 2014 for a scandal involving the team's podologist, although La Volpe denied anything untoward ever happened.
Elsewhere, Tigres' veteran coach Ricardo "Tuca" Ferretti has not discounted himself despite previously stating he'd prefer to be a street-sweeper than El Tri's manager. Former Spain and China manager Jose Antonio Camacho's name has also been put forward.
All in all, there doesn't seem to be a mad rush at the FMF's door for a job that should be one of the most attractive in international soccer. To increase the position's attractiveness for top candidates, Mexico's footballing authorities should draw a line in the sand and make it explicit that they have learned the lessons of the past and are willing to change their ways. Then they need to follow it up with actions.