"He literally kept the hinge unlocked. That's what that statement was." Tim Howard doesn't need a crystal ball — he just listened to what Mauricio Pochettino actually said.
Speaking on the Unfiltered Soccer podcast he co-hosts with Landon Donovan, the former USMNT goalkeeper and Everton stalwart dissected Pochettino's press conference comments after the Argentine signed a four-year extension through the 2030 World Cup in Morocco, Spain, and Portugal. And Howard's read is hard to argue with.
What Pochettino actually said
Asked about his new deal, Pochettino didn't give the usual manager boilerplate. He said: "Maybe now if someone calls in the future, it's a different type of situation." He acknowledged that a bad Copa América or Gold Cup could get him sacked — or prompt him to walk. He said "four years is a long period."
That's not a man who just bolted the door. That's a man describing exactly which windows are still open.
Howard was blunt about what that means in practice: "He can turn down the first $30 million offer, and he can turn down the second and the third $40 million offer. At some point, somebody is going to be desperate enough and go, 'Okay, here's 50. Come coach this team.'"
He's not wrong. Pochettino is a globally credentialed coach with Tottenham and PSG on his CV. Every major club vacancy between now and 2030 will have his name floated. His agent will be fielding calls whether Pochettino asks him to or not. That's the industry.
What this means for U.S. Soccer's planning
The USMNT's Round of 16 run at this World Cup was enough to earn Pochettino the extension — but it wasn't the kind of run that makes a federation feel totally secure. Hosting the next tournament adds domestic pressure that doesn't exist elsewhere. Expectations will be higher in 2030, not lower.
If Pochettino exits mid-cycle — after a poor Copa América result, say, or if a Champions League club comes with the right number — U.S. Soccer would be scrambling again. That continuity problem has plagued the program for years.
For now, though, none of that is imminent. The major European leagues are barely a month old, and Pochettino's attention turns to a run of friendlies against Peru, Chile, Mexico, and Canada between September 26 and October 6. He'll be in the dugout for those.
But Howard's point stands: the easiest answer to that contract question was enthusiasm. Pochettino gave anything but that. "Otherwise, he wouldn't say it," Howard said. "Why would he say it?"
Good question.
