Caleb Porter Discusses Off-Season Now That 2024 Season Concludes

Porter: “In my view, I know exactly what we need in order to be more of a contender.”

Image Courtesy of J. Alexander Dolan

The 2024 season didn’t go how the New England Revolution expected, but head coach Caleb Porter is confident he knows what the team needs.

The Revs didn’t make the post-season, finishing 14th in the Eastern Conference with a record of 9-21-4. Their final game of the season was a 6-2 loss to Inter Miami CF, a game where they had a two-goal lead.

Porter said afterward that the off-season “work begins today.”

“I know what we need,” Porter said. “In some cases, we have had to work around things. That is just the nature of coming into a team that there are players there that were signed before you got here and they have contracts that are guaranteed.

“There are some guys that have options. There are some guys that still have guaranteed contracts that we are going to have to still work around in some way, shape, or form. But we freed up some cap and we know exactly what we need.

“In my view, I know exactly what we need in order to be more of a contender.”

This will be Porter's third window, as well as that of sporting director Curt Onalfo. The two assumed their current roles before the season, with Chris Tierney becoming the assistant sporting director and Remi Roy becoming technical director.

While relatively quiet ahead of First Kick, the Revs added Aljaz Ivacic and Xavier Arreaga before the primary transfer window closed.

The Revs were more active in the summer, trading Henry Kessler for Tim Parker and $600,000 in 2025 General Allocation Money (GAM) and DeJuan Jones for Will Sands, $300,000 in 2024 GAM, and $300,000 in 2025 GAM.

The team also added Alhassan Yusuf and Luca Langoni, who were on the scoresheet on Saturday.

Porter is now looking forward since the 2024 season has come to a close.

“Now, it is a matter of continuing to make good decisions now with regards to who comes back, who is in the core, who do we think we can count on that has the right mentality, that can perform to the level we need in our system. We have good evidence over the course of a whole year to make good decisions.

“Then from there, with the cap that we have and the cap we freed up, we need to nail the targets. Like Luca, like Yusuf, like Will Sands, these are signings that we feel we nailed it.

“I still believe in Aljaž as a great piece, a goalkeeper. He needs more help. Arreaga, frankly, needs to be more consistent. I felt at the end of the year, maybe it is being with Ecuador and being in and out, but for sure he is a guy that, at his level, is good enough, but defensively, he is going to have to be a bit more consistent.”

In April 2024, Porter said that “the cap is extremely tight.”

The Revs have opened some cap space via their transfers, but more could happen during the off-season as 17 players have guaranteed contracts that end in 2024, according to the MLS Club Profiles.

During a recent interview with 98.5, Porter stated that he expects 70% of the roster to return. He also mentioned the possibility of adding a striker, center back, or winger.

“We have got cap freed up and we know what we need,” Porter explained. “We have already had discussions - Curt, myself, Chris, and Remi - and the work begins today. The players get an offseason, the coaches and front office don't.

“I am excited to get to work and get in the war room. We are going to meet with the players Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday. There will be some hard decisions and some hard conversations, but I do believe we have a great core.

“And I believe in our front office, collectively, with myself, that we will make the right decisions and we will be able to get players, like Yusuf and Langoni, that will continue to make us better and get us to the level we need to get.”