Red Bulls Drop Backe; Name New Sporting Director Less than 24 hours after they were eliminated from the playoffs in Major League Soccer, the Red Bulls on Friday surprised no one when they announced that the contract of Hans Backe, the team's coach for the past three seasons, would not be renewed when it expires at the end of the year. "We want to thank Hans for his work over the past three years and wish him the best of luck in the future," said the global sporting director of Red Bull Soccer, Gérard Houllier, in a statement. The news release was composed of only four paragraphs. Asked after Thursday night's 1-0 loss to D.C. United if it would be his last game in charge, Backe said, "We have to wait and see with that." The club said that Mike Petke would serve as the interim coach (and possibly oversee the team that is planning some exhibition matches in Venezuela next month) until a replacement is named and added that the contract of the other assistant coach, Jan Halvor Halvorsen, also would not be extended. The Red Bulls also said they have found a replacement for Erik Soler, who hired Backe and who was himself dismissed in August. The new man responsible for all of the club's soccer activities is Andy Roxburgh, a former national team coach of Scotland and technical director at UEFA, the sport's European governing body. The club has again hired an European with little or no experience in the United States or with M.L.S. "I am excited and honored to be given the opportunity by Dietrich Mateschitz to contribute to the development of such an outstanding soccer organization, as the New York Red Bulls," Roxburgh said in a statement. I'm also delighted to be getting involved in Major League Soccer, which has an impressive reputation as a fast growing and highly competitive league. Backe, 60, is a native of Sweden who previously worked in several European leagues, including in England where he served as an assistant to his countryman Sven-Goran Eriksson. Backe was hired in January 2010 and took the Red Bulls to first place in the Eastern Conference before the team was eliminated the first round of the playoffs by San Jose. The past two seasons the Red Bulls have struggled at times even as the club has added international stars like Thierry Henry, Rafael Marquez and Tim Cahill. In 98 regular-season games under Backe, the Red Bulls had a 41-26-31 record. Roxburgh, 69, began his professional playing career in 1961 and retired in 1975, spending his entire tenure in the top two divisions in Scotland. He was Scotland's national team coach from 1986 to 1993. What do you think of the decisions? Could it possibly be surprising that Backe will not be, well, back? With Roxburgh, a Briton, now in charge of the Red Bulls, do you think it more likely the club will hire a foreign or American coach? A British coach? Who would you like to see as the next coach of the Red Bulls?