Sometimes when things go wrong, the best move is looking backward instead of forward. That's exactly where Orlando City finds itself right now.
The club just fired Oscar Pareja after only THREE games into the new season. Yeah, you read that right. Three matches.
Sure, those three performances were terrible. But this is the same coach who led Orlando City to six straight playoff appearances – the longest active streak in MLS. He was literally the most successful coach the club has ever had.
So why fire him so quickly? And why announce it just hours after Kay Rawlins – one of the club's beloved co-founders – revealed her retirement?
The timing couldn't have been worse. Kay deserved a week of celebration for everything she built alongside her ex-husband Phil. Instead, the club hijacked her moment with this shocking coaching change.
Enter Adrian Heath - The Man Who Built Orlando City
Here's where things get interesting. Adrian Heath, affectionately known as "Inchy," is the guy who actually built this franchise from scratch.
Before Orlando City even played in MLS, Heath was pounding the pavement across Central Florida. He drank Guinness with fans at soccer pubs. He showed up at community events. He helped organize the early supporter groups.
This wasn't just a coach doing his job. Heath lived and breathed Orlando City's culture for 6½ years through the lower divisions.
When the club finally reached MLS in 2015, Orlando had one of the best expansion seasons ever – third best in league history, actually. But new ownership fired Heath just a year and a half later.
For many longtime fans, it never felt right. Heath was told there was a three-year plan. He never got to finish it.
"You can't achieve what people expect you to achieve in a year and a half," Heath said years later when I spoke with him.
Why Heath Makes Sense Right Now
Orlando City feels lost right now. Interim coach Martin Perelman is holding things together, but there's no clear direction. The messaging from the front office has been confusing.
For bettors considering Orlando City this season, this instability is a major red flag. Coaching chaos usually means unpredictable performances on the field.
So here's a wild idea: bring back Adrian Heath.
Not necessarily forever. Maybe just for the rest of this season. See what happens.
Heath isn't coaching anyone right now. And I know he'd jump at the chance to return to Orlando.
At minimum, it would reconnect the club with its roots. It would generate massive goodwill among the fanbase at a time when the club desperately needs it.
More importantly, Heath understands Orlando City's DNA better than anyone alive. He knows what made this club special when purple flags flew everywhere and packed bars watched away matches.
When Heath was coaching Minnesota United in 2019, he told me: "Orlando City will never, ever, ever be just another game to me. Because I put too much into building that franchise."
That's not just a quote. That's genuine love for what he created.
Phil Rawlins, Kay Rawlins, and Adrian Heath belong on Orlando City's Mount Rushmore. Those three turned a dream into reality when critics said soccer would never work in Orlando.
Right now, the club is at a crossroads. They can keep stumbling through this messy moment, or they can bring back the man who started it all.
Maybe Heath could reignite that electric atmosphere that once made Orlando City one of America's most vibrant soccer communities. Maybe he could finally finish what he started.
Sometimes you find your future by journeying through your past. For Orlando City, that journey leads straight back to Inchy.
