FIU and soccer coach Kyle Russell agree to terms on a five-year contract extension

FIU’s highly regarded men’s soccer program was facing a crisis this past December.

Coach Kyle Russell, who had led the Panthers to a win over the nation’s No. 1 team last season as well as a berth in the NCAA Tournament, had a job offer from a school in a Power Five conference.

While Russell declined to specify which school, he said the offer was serious enough that he took a trip there to contemplate the move just two days before Christmas.

It was a particularly difficult moment for FIU because Scott Carr had just been named Panthers athletic director on Nov. 30. Carr’s primary focus in December was hiring a football coach and helping bring in assistants.

Meanwhile, Carr and Russell had to get to know each other quickly if there were any chance to retain the coach.

“I want to be at a school where I’m valued and where soccer is valued,” Russell said. “It has to be a school that has a plan for generating and maintaining success.

“Scott and I had some tough and serous conversations. It wasn’t, ‘We’ll talk again tomorrow.’ There wasn’t time for that. We had to stay on the phone until we figured it out.”

They figured it out.

FIU and Russell have agreed to terms on a five-year contract extension that is expected to be signed this month.

“He has done a tremendous job in a short time,” Carr said of Russell, who was hired just before the pandemic hit, on Feb. 20, 2020. “It’s more than just wins and losses. It’s the culture piece and the way he is running the program and working with our young men.”

Russell agrees with that “culture” sentiment.

But he made it clear he is about wins.

“I don’t want to just be ‘competitive in the conference.’ I want nothing to do with that,” Russell said. “Some may think I’m arrogant or naïve. But I want three trophies. I want the regular-season conference title [which FIU won last season], the league postseason trophy and the national championship.

“I’m determined to get tall three or I won’t be fully satisfied.”

Last season, with a bunch of new starters, FIU went 12-4-2. FIU routed 13th-ranked UCF — Carr’s school at the time — 4-0. FIU beat 12th-ranked VCU, 1-0. FIU tied eighth-ranked Kentucky on the road, 0-0. FIU beat Russell’s former school, Coastal Carolina, 2-1. And FIU beat top-ranked Marshall, 4-1.

However, FIU finished the season with two straight losses: 3-0 to Kentucky in the Conference USA tournament and 3-2 at home to Wake Forest in the NCAA Tournament’s opening round.

This year, FIU returns nine starters, and Russell said his five-year plan is to be a perennial contender for the national title.

To get there, FIU will need to upgrade its soccer facilities, Russell said.

“I’m not a guy who jumps around from job to job,” said Russell, who was as at Coastal Carolina for a decade before joining FIU. “I want to build something here, and that includes improving the locker room and stadium.

“Scott jumped in front of this stuff. He wants to help us grow.”

Carr, on campus just three months, told the Miami Herald he hasn’t had time yet to take a deep dive into the facilities issue, but he indicated a desire to make improvements.

Russell, who talks to his players about “earning everything,” said they notice things such as locker rooms and soccer stadiums.

“We have players who will run through brick walls for FIU,” Russell said. “When we stack multiple years of success, players will look around. They will want to know, ‘Where is the investment?’ ”

THIS AND THAT

▪ FIU’s baseball team (5-0) will get its first big test this weekend with two games each against Seton Hall and Michigan.

▪ FIU’s men’s basketball team (15-12, 5-9) recently snapped an eight-game road losing streak with a 72-71 win at Marshall. FIU finishes its regular season with three of four games on the road.

▪ FAU shortstop Armando Albert — son of Belen High School coach Jerry Albert — had a huge opening weekend as Owls shortstop, driving in seven runs in four games while batting .500 with one homer and one triple.

▪ The NSU Sharks are off to a 9-0 start in baseball. In men’s basketball, NSU is 23-0 and ranked No. 1 in the nation in NCAA Division II.

This story was originally published February 23, 2022 at 1:20 PM.