On Thursday the Padres hired a new manager in Andy Green whom fans knew little about.

On Friday, 20 miles south, the Tijuana Xolos were filling their vacant head coaching position with the opposite philosophy: Go big or go home.

Former Mexican national coach Miguel “El Piojo” Herrera was at Tijuana’s Estadio Caliente on Friday, either because he is interviewing for the job or because he has already accepted it. ESPN Deportes’ John Sutcliffe first reported and sources later confirmed that it’s the latter – El Piojo (“The Louse”) is the guy.

Herrera, you might remember, went from national coach to out of work just days after leading El Tri to the Gold Cup championship last July. The official reason was that he punched a Mexican television commentator in a security line at the Philadelphia airport after an ongoing feud. The unofficial reason was that El Tri was lackluster in recent months and was winning games in the Gold Cup through the beneficence of questionable referee whistles more than talent or tactics.


You also might remember that Herrera, as fiery and demonstrative and outspoken as he can be, can coach. He led Club America to the Liga MX title in May 2013, then five months later bailed out the national team on the verge of elimination from 2014 World Cup qualifying. At the ensuing World Cup, El Tri reached the second round and was leading the Netherlands 1-0 late in the second half before losing 2-1 on a controversial penalty.

A little fire – have you see his goal celebrations? – is probably just what el medico ordered for the Xolos, who have reached the eight-team Liga MX playoffs only once since claiming the 2012 Apertura title. They fired coach Ruben Omar Romano on Oct. 17 after barely four months on the job and entered Friday night’s home game against Pumas in 17th place with three to play. Raul Chabrand was named interim coach and is expected to stay for the remainder of the season, after which Herrera would take over.

Herrera also makes sense from a tactical standpoint. Romano plays with a five-man back line and last summer dramatically retooled the Tijuana roster to reflect that. Herrera prefers a 5-3-2 formation, too, so the roster might merely have to be tweaked instead of turned over.

Herrera, 47, recently told ESPN Deportes that his time away from the bench has provided perspective.


“I’ve been quiet, very happy and spent a while with my family,” Herrera said. “As I coach, I never stopped when I left teams. I went to the next tournament and I haven’t stopped.”

Herrera had a 15-year career as a professional player, including 14 caps on the national team in the mid-1990s. The Xolos are the sixth different Mexican club he has coaches, seventh if you could two separate stints at Atlante.

Tijuana has been unable to recapture the magic of Antonio “El Turco” Mohamed, who guided the club to its only Liga MX title and a deep run in the Copa Libertadores before returning to his native Argentina in 2013. A year later, he replaced Herrera at Club America.

In the two years since Mohamed left, the Xolos have burned through four coaches plus Chabrand, none lasting more than a year. Daniel Guzman had the Xolos in first place midway through the 2015 Clausura season last spring, but they have won just four of 21 league games since and, worse, only one of nine at Estadio Caliente.