Report: Colorado never called back Nicol

Shortly after head coach Steve Nicol and the Revolution parted ways in October, a report surfaced that the former gaffer entertained an offer to fill the then-vacant heading coaching job in Colorado. But, according to Nicol, it wasn’t he who to reneged on the opportunity.

In a Jan. 10 report from the Boston Globe, the former Revolution manager suggested that he never said “no” the Colorado job, but rather, it was the club who declined his services.

“A lot of people are calling me to ask why I turned down the Rapids job,” Nicol told the Globe. “But that is not what happened.”

So what did happen? The way Nicol tells it, the opportunity to interview for the post was presented shortly after his departure from the Revolution. But after an interview was discussed, Rapids technical director Paul Bravo never called Nicol back.

“By not calling back, it’s unprofessional,” Nicol told the Globe. “It is also disrespectful to me.”

Colorado hired former Revolution midfielder Oscar Pareja on Jan. 5 to fill the position.

It was originally reported that Nicol, who managed the Revolution from 2002-11, declined the Rapids’ vacant head coaching post. The goal.com report cited “rumors that Rapids directors interfered in player recruitment” as the reason for Nicol’s apparent change of heart. Former Rapids head coach Gary Smith, who led the club to its first MLS Cup championship in 2010, was dismissed following the conclusion of a tumultuous 2011 season in which he and the front office reportedly butted heads often.

Now, it appears that Nicol, who expressed his desire to return to coaching in the Globe’s report, may have been the one waiting by the phone. 

A request to reach the Rapids for comment was not immediately returned.