by The Rebellion supporters group issued a statement on Wednesday demanding the immediate dismissal of both sports director Curt Onalfo and club head coach Caleb Porter, in what was the most recent and direct call for a change in the Revolution’s leadership.
The Rebellion statement demanded the immediate release of Porter and Onalfo, citing the team’s dismal record (New England is 11th in the Eastern Conference, having only won one of its last 14 league games), as well as the players’, coaches’, front office staff’s, and team ownership’s failure to return the fans’ enthusiasm and dedication.
The group’s statement continued, “It’s time to return the fight to the Revolution and give the devoted supporters something to cheer for and no longer be embarrassed about.”
The Rebellion’s declaration.mBiBsMiuS4 pic.twitter.com/
After the version released by The Midnight Rider on Monday night, this is the second declaration from the club’s two most well-known fan bases in as many days.
The primary distinction between the two statements was that, rather than immediately calling for change, the Midnight Riders said that, should the team’s performance continue in this direction, ownership should fire [Porter and Onalfo] and start a thorough search for a new coach and sporting director who can instill trust and accountability in the group.
Midnight Riders statement #RidersOverHere #NERevspic.twitter.com/lcfb1ImzId
The fact that both of the team’s biggest independent fan bases are now involved in the present controversy only serves to intensify the already heated situation facing New England leadership.
Porter and Onalfo were still in charge at the time of publishing, and the club has not yet formally acknowledged the claims.
For the majority of the year, New England, which made significant roster adjustments before the 2025 season began, has had difficulty producing consistently good outcomes. Porter’s club has now accomplished an embarrassing reversal of their nine-game winning streak, which was somewhat encouraging from mid-April to the end of May.
After the most recent 3-1 loss at home to CF Montreal, things reached a breaking point. Despite starting the game in bottom place in the conference, the visitors managed to overcome an early Revolution goal and secure a very easy road victory.
Supporters booed and chanted about firing Porter after the club lost to a last-place team at home during what should have been a playoff push.
After the defeat, Porter remarked, “I’ve been doing this for a long time.” Every day, I do my hardest to accomplish my work. I’m not flawless all the time. Even though I make mistakes, I constantly think back on them. I want the group to know that we stay united and keep moving forward. Although we are all responsible, now is not the time to assign blame or point fingers. We must all assume responsibility. That is a typical procedure.
Ultimately, I never pay attention to outside influences. In response to a question concerning fan opinion, he remarked, “I concentrate on doing my job, always to the best of my ability.” The lack of results has greatly disappointed me. This is how I make a living. I live, eat, breathe, and sleep like this, and I haven’t slept much in the past few months because of the outcomes. I have been grinding, and I will continue to grind. As I mentioned earlier, we will not give up. I, the locker room, and those players are all capable of perseverance.
Following the abrupt resignation of Bruce Arena, who formally resigned midway through the 2023 season following an MLS inquiry regarding offensive and insensitive remarks he made while working for the team, Porter was originally hired prior to the 2024 season.
In 2024, Porter’s club took a similar route to its current one, ending 14th out of 15 teams in the East and missing the playoffs. Additionally, fans’ patience has run thin despite his sincere attempts to address the lack of outcomes.
Following the release of the statement, Rebellion president David Rodriguez stated in an interview on Wednesday that this was not something that was done on a whim.
Rodriguez went on to say that there is nothing against Porter and Onalfo as individuals. Both of them are amazing individuals. Being able to get to know them during my time as a member of the Rebellion leadership has been fantastic. However, like any other profession, there are instances when the fit isn’t ideal. Things must occasionally change. Sadly, their time with the team to implement things hasn’t worked out for either of them.
The Revolution presently has two weeks before MLS regular season games resume later in August because they will not be playing in the Leagues Cup in 2025. The period after the loss to Montreal and the next game against D.C. United (on August 9) would have been a logical time to go through the process if New England ownership had chosen to make changes.
However, despite declarations from fan organizations and a dearth of on-field performance, no changes seem to be imminent. Although it did happen in 2019 when general manager Mike Burns and head coach Brad Friedel were fired in May before Arena was hired, the Kraft family, who have owned the franchise since its inception, has often avoided making in-season changes to team leadership.
The Friedel and Burns case demonstrated the potential influence that soccer supporter groups can wield. Only Friedel was initially expelled, but Burns left a few days later, partly as a result of unfavorable fan feedback (after The Midnight Riders issued a statement advocating for his removal).
It is unclear whether the dual declarations will have the same impact in 2025.
What do they hope to achieve? Rodriguez questioned the ownership group of Kraft. What are they seeking? For them, what does success look like? Are season tickets the only thing being sold? Is it successful? Are they trophies?
[The franchise] assured us unequivocally that they [the Krafts] aspire to be among the league’s top clubs and that they want to win trophies and an MLS Cup. However, it hasn’t occurred.
At the very least, Rodriguez said, team ownership should take the current state of affairs seriously and demonstrate that it can do more for its most devoted fans.
Through our and the Riders’ words, I hope they will realize that we want better and that this is a team that the locals love and that consistently shows up for games.
Since 2016, Hayden Bird has been employed at Boston.com as a sports staff writer. He covers all aspect of New England sports.
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