Chris Tierney's stock has risen quickly since joining the New England Revolution's front office in 2019. His most recent promotion – becoming general manager and chief soccer officer – was made to keep the Massachusetts native at the club where he had an 11-year playing career.

Tierney was added to the technical staff in 2019, serving as a player recruitment manager. He was the director of soccer operations from 2022-23 before being named assistant sporting director in 2024.

He's earned a lot of respect for how he handles himself, with Revs president Brian Bilello praising his integrity.

"His work ethic is unparalleled," Bilello said. "When you see those relationships that he has around the league, those are really important. Sometimes, someone is looking to move a player, and they’re going to call two or three people they trust to say, ‘Would you be interested in this? Would you do this?’ Or that you can call someone and say, ‘I have an interesting idea, what do you think?’

"Chris has unparalleled relationships across the league. I think that’s a really critical component of it."

Curt Onalfo, who was promoted from sporting director to senior vice president of soccer operations, explained that Tierney was his first hire seven years ago. He describes Tierney as "eager," "motivated," and having "superior intelligence."

"When I was in the suite with [Robert Kraft] yesterday, he said, 'We have to make sure that we always have closers.' And he’s right," Onalfo said. "Chris is a closer. He’s great at getting deals done. He was instrumental in bringing Matt Turner here. It was a very complicated situation, and he just navigated through it in an incredibly graceful way."

Tierney is also highly regarded across the league and was named the most likely No. 2 to become a chief soccer officer in the most recent edition of The Athletic's anonymous general manager survey.

Onalfo "thought there would be a good chance that Chris wouldn’t be with us come January." As such, he devised a plan to retain Tierney while pushing the club forward.

Onalfo will focus on the club’s soccer operations and pro pathway, while Tierney will oversee the first team roster and technical staff.

"I feel really fortunate that we were able to have [Chris and Curt] both stay with our club for a while," Bilello said. "To have Curt have the ability to sit back a little bit, obviously be focused on many things in our club, but also think about what we're doing to move forward, and how we remain competitive in all those areas.

"Then Chris, with his talents and ability to really take hold of everything on our first team side and make sure that we're being competitive every single year to win MLS Cups."

Tierney noted that he's had great mentors along the way, naming Onalfo and Bilello. He's excited about the next chapter in his storied career, which, fittingly, will take place with his hometown team.

Once the kid sitting on the aluminum benches at the old Foxboro Stadium, Tierney will take on a new role as he looks to bring the elusive MLS Cup to the Revs.

"The responsibility of this role is not lost on me," Tierney said. "I don’t expect any extra leeway being a former player here. We have to deliver on our goals. I’m willing to accept the pressure and consequences that come with that. I’m really excited for the opportunity; that’s all I can say."