As Rugby Today's Pat Clifton first reported, we are able to confirm that Mike Friday will be the next head coach of the Eagles 7s program pending the completion of his contract. It was thought that Friday had used the Eagles to gain a better position at London Scottish as Director of Rugby but it turns out that move will allow him the freedom to also oversee the U.S. program. Friday will not be based in Chula Vista but will rely on new U.S. assistant coach Chris Brown and Director of Sevens Alex Magleby to handle the day to day activities. It should be stressed that nothing is final until the contract is signed.
By all accounts Friday is a terrific hire. He brings a lot of experience--there aren't a ton of specialist sevens coaches out there--and has a proven track record. His record with Kenya is especially relevant to the U.S. at the moment as a resource scarce team with a lot of athletes.
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At the same time the hire is a risk for Nigel Melville and U.S.A. Rugby. There will now be three people to get on one page in regards to the program. As long as they are happy working with one another it shouldn't be a problem. There are also concerns of whether relying on another set of eyes for day to day training is the best way to go for a head coach. Coaches can have a huge impact at a tournament but most tournaments are won and lost in training and selections. Without being at training everyday Friday will have to rely on Brown and Magleby for input.
With World Cup qualifying underway this next season and summer it's a strange time to experiment. However, the results weren't there under Matt Hawkins and at this point the U.S. likely needs to hope that Canada finish in the top four or that they are able to beat them in a one-off match in qualifying next summer. With new additions to the series like Regulation 9 the Eagles may end up using players that aren't playing regularly in Europe and integrate them onto the Series. Having a European-based coach with connections will help.
Another aspect of the hire is that the academy structure that was instituted under Alex Magleby will be used more. That said, the core contract structure that Matt Hawkins instituted will not be going away either. Instead it will be more of a hybrid relationship. All in all it seems that under the new structure and with results not going their way in recent times the 7s program is open to getting help wherever they can get it.