'We need to improve the product' – Chicago Fire manager Gregg Berhalter weighs in on MLS's future, promotion-relegation and team's performance

The Chicago Fire head coach addresses the team's progress, his dual role challenges, and the future of MLS in a wide-ranging interview

Berhalter assesses Fire's performance as "work in progress"Coach discusses balancing head coach and director of football rolesInsights on MLS structure and potential for promotion/relegationGet the MLS Season Pass today!Stream games nowGetty Images SportWHAT HAPPENED

After a tough start to the season, Gregg Berhalter’s Chicago Fire have managed to find a decent run of form before their streak was ended by the New York Red Bulls recently. Prior to that, the Fire had been unbeaten in their last five league games, a run that included three wins.

It does have many wondering what the team can really do under the former USMNT head coach and Berhalter admitted that their performance has been okay so far. In an interview on The Overlap US, the Fire head coach added that he’s happy the way the team has responded and is pleased with the attitude of his players.

“I think it’s okay. The group has shown that we can compete, you know we still want to start changing the mindset and for us it’s about doing the small things that are going to help us win games more regularly. It’s been a work in progress with the group but what I could say is that the mindset of the group and the attitude of the players has been fantastic!” Berhalter said on The Overlap US.

The former Columbus Crew boss also opened up about his dual role as director of football and head coach at Chicago Fire and believes he can only do his job properly because he has the right team in place.

“It’s really about time management and umm, getting good people on board. You know we have a great sporting leadership team in place with sporting director, head of recruitment, head of performance, general manager and head of strategy. So it’s really working with those five key members to help with the longer term decisions and then fun part is the day-to-day on the field, coaching the group and preparing for the games,” Berhalter added.

AdvertisementWHAT GREGG BERHALTER SAID

Berhalter also opened up about his thoughts on whether the MLS should get promotion and relegation into the mix and what could potentially stop that from happening.

“Here’s what I would say, is that it’s a completely different structure we have. And if we’re in a vacuum, If we’re in this perfect world scenario, I’d say promotion and relegation is really really exciting for the fans but we’re not in that. There’s some owners that have been carrying this league for a really long time and we’re still trying to grow the league, and they’ve invested a ton of money over a huge amount of time to make MLS work,” Berhalter said. “And to say to them your club could be out of the league permanently is difficult. So I think we just have a different dynamic at play here and because of that, we have to get creative. This is where this playoff structure has gained some traction and it’s gotten exciting for the fans at that time of year."

He also expanded on the fact that he believes that if the MLS improves the basic product they’re offering then the format that they have in place wouldn’t matter all that much.

“I think in general, we need to improve the product and if we really improve the product, I’m not sure the format matters that much. You know for us, it’s about how do we get great players into this league, how do we set up teams to play in a very attractive and competitive way so that the fans will watch it no matter the format is.”

The Chicago Fire head coach then moved on to his side’s weekend clash against Lionel Messi and Inter Miami, and Berhalter admitted that there’s no stopping from scoring. However, he added that Javier Mascherano’s side isn’t perfect and his team needs to find that weakness to exploit.

”We’re not going to man to man him [Lionel Messi], but we have to be aware of him. I think he’s still too clever, still too good and you know I don’t think one person could mark him anyway, I just think it’s very difficult." the American revealed. "I’ve been able to speak to a bunch of coaches that have already played Miami and the key is accepting that they’re probably gonna score a goal. It’s really about accepting that they’re gonna do damage, and he’s [Messi] is going to get chances, he may even score,"

“For us, it’s how do we hurt them and I think that’s the real important thing, and going into the mindset that they can show vulnerabilities and you have to really embrace the fact that you can hurt them in some areas but understanding that they have quality and it’s hard to deal with.”

THE BIGGER PICTURE

Berhalter signed for the Chicago Fire prior to the 2025 MLS season starting and while things didn’t kick off well for the former USMNT boss, his side has found a rhythm lately. That was derailed by the New York Red Bulls recently but the Fire are still in seventh place on the Eastern Conference table with 11 points to their name and are four points behind Conference leaders Columbus Crew.

Getty Images SportWHAT’S NEXT?

Berhalter and his Chicago Fire side face Inter Miami next in the MLS on April 13 at Soldier Field and then host FC Cincinnati on April 19 in back-to-back home games.