Opinion: The duality of Michael Burns’ legacy in New England soccer

Michael Burns, right, with MLS commissioner Don Garber and former US Soccer president Sunil Gulati. (Fred Kfoury III/Getty Images)

Something else had to change.

That was the general consensus among national and local reporters, New England Revolution fans, and insiders who have a pulse on the comings and goings of Major League Soccer. Firing head coach Brad Friedel last Thursday after a 12-21-13 stretch was a necessary step, most agreed, but the pressure just kept on coming.

And so the gauntlet fell Monday evening with a 7 p.m. press release. The subject line simply read: New England Revolution part ways with general manager Michael Burns.

Purely from an X’s and O’s perspective, the move made a lot of sense.